NIACC men place 5th at Iowa Central Spring Invite

FORT DODGE - The NIACC men's golf team placed fifth at the Iowa Central Spring Invitational on Saturday at the Fort Dodge Country Club.

The Trojans, who were in sixth place after the first 18 holes on Friday, shot identical rounds of 305-305 - 610. Host Iowa Central was the team champion with a 282-393 - 575.

DMACC placed second with a 294-306 - 597 and Mount Mercy University was third with a 302-302 - 604.

"The guys were solid this weekend," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said. "I really liked what I saw out there overall.

"We moved up a spot after yesterday and we're right there with the top teams in our region."

NIACC was led by freshmen JJ Wickman and John Doherty, who both tied for 13th in the individual medalist competition. Wickman shot 76-75 - 151 and Doherty shot 77-74 - 151.

"JJ Wickman and John Doherty really did an outstanding job of keeping things together over both days," Frenz said, "and when we get everyone else to give us great effort through all 18/36 holes of the tournament, we can make things interesting."

Other counting scores for the Trojans were Kai Nelles (75-79 - 154) and Jack Barragy 78-77 - 155. Also for the Trojans, Beau Thompson shot 77-79 - 156 and Hunter Heintz shot 93-82 - 175.

 "It was great to see Beau Thompson put back to back solid rounds together and Jack Barragy is really close to where he wants to be. Kai Nelles scrambled like crazy (Saturday) and his putter was hot. It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to hosting on Thursday."

NIACC hosts the NIACC Spring Invitational at the Mason City Country Club on Thursday.

Team standings - Iowa Central 282-293 - 575, DMACC 294-306 - 597, Mount Mercy University 302-302 - 604, Kirkwood 302-303 - 605, NIACC 305-305 - 610, Buena Vista 304-308 - 612, Southwestern 315-318 - 633, Iowa Lakes 320-315 - 635, Iowa Central B 319-318 - 637, Hawkeye CC 323-315 - 638, Hawkeye CC B 347-346 - 693, University of Jamestown 336-345 - 681, Simpson College 352-354 - 706.