Berger, Ham lead Trojans
FORT DODGE - NIACC sophomore Bennett Berger shot an even par round of 71 and sits in a tie for sixth place Friday after the first day of the Iowa Central Spring Invitational at the Fort Dodge Country Club.
NIACC freshman Garrett Ham shot a 73 and is in a tie for 10th place heading into Saturday's final 18 holes at the 36-hole tournament.
"It was a good day for Bennett and Garrett (Friday)," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said, "as they sit two and four shots off the lead going into day two.
"Unfortunately, the others couldn't get it going (Friday) and we're well of the pace team wise, which is disappointing."
Iowa Central's Bailey Doe and Mads Svendsen of Southeast CC (Neb.) are tied for first with a pair of 69s.
NIACC is in sixth place with a team score of 308 on Friday. Southeast CC (Neb.) is the first-day leader with a round of 285.
Host Iowa Central is in second with a round of 292 and Alexandria Tech CC (Minn.) is in third with a 293.
Also for the Trojans on Friday, freshmen Ashtin Willms and Drew DeGabriele both shot 82 and freshman Ian Roske shot 85. Playing as an individual, the Trojans' Gavin Anderson shot 86.
"A number of these teams are in our region and we know what we need to do to compete," Frenz said. "We're just searching for some consistency.
"We just need to keep grinding. We know we can play better. We just need to do it."
The second round of the tournament starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
