Malchow leads NIACC at district tourney

MORAVIA - NIACC freshman Bryce Malchow shot a first-day 79-82 - 161 and is in a tie for 23rd place at the NJCAA North Central District Tournament on Saturday at the Preserve on Rathbun Lake Golf Course.

NIACC shot 328-344 - 672 and is in 10th place heading into Sunday's final 18 holes. Kirkwood is the first-day leader with a 302-300 - 602 in cold and windy conditions.

"I thought Bryce Malchow showed great resilience (Saturday) and really kept himself together," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said. "That will give him confidence heading into day 2 and hopefully carry over into next year."

Kirkwood's Brandon McCarthy leads the individual medalisst competition with a 72-74 - 146.

Also for the Trojans on Saturday, Kai Nelles shot 85-86 - 171 (tied for 37th), Jack Barragy shot 83-89 - 172 (tied for 39th), Eric Ritter shot 81-91 - 172 (tied for 39th) and Bradley Vaith shot 89-87 - 176.

"It was not a great day for the Trojans," Frenz said. "We're very disappointed.

"The weather was brutal, as you can tell from the leaderboard, as even the top teams struggled with the conditions (low to mid-40s with high wins about 20-30 mph and gusty)."

Frenz said the weather forecast isn't the best for Sunday.

"Hopefully, we can gather ourselves and pull together a respectable round," the coach said. "We picked a bad time to shoot our worst score of the season.

"I know my team, though, they'll come out (Sunday) and give it their all."

Team standings - Kirkwood 302-300 - 602; Northeast CC 305-313 - 618; Hawkeye CC 311-310 - 621; Southeast CC 310-322 - 632; Southwestern 313-320 - 633; Iowa Central 317-318 - 635; Iowa Lakes 310-326 - 636; DMACC 320-330 - 650; Central CC-Columbus 330-337; NIACC 328-344 - 672.