Ames qualifies state as a team in girls golf for first time since 2010
The Ames girls golf team gave coach R.J. Voss a huge present Wednesday.
Voss was not able to be with the girls during the season due to a leg injury that has kept him in the hospital for the past month and a half. Voss was recently released from the hospital, and he got a nice surprise Wednesday.
The Ames girls placed second at Class 4A regional final meet at the Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames. That effort qualified the Little Cyclones for state as a team for the first time since they won back-to-back state championships in 2009-2010.
"Not being able to be there has absolutely killed me," an emotional Voss said. "I couldn't be more proud of the job (assistant) coach Drew DeJong and the girls have done this year. I know how hard they've worked, and they deserve it. We surprised a lot of people this year."
DeJong said it was great to see the team come together during the tough time and get rewarded Wednesday.
"I've known R.J. for 15 years and we've coached together for 10," DeJong said. "It's been tough, but the girls have come together — they're golfers."
Ames shot a 367 over 18 holes as a team to take second out of 10 schools competing at the regional meet in Ames. Southeast Polk won the team title with a score of 344 and Dowling Catholic came in 19 strokes behind Ames for third with a 386.
"The girls started on the front 9 and that's usually not their favorite," DeJong said. "But it's an 18-hole meet and once they realized that they played well. They played really well as a team, and that was their goal all season. It was a pretty special day."
Sophomores Emersen Motl and Elizabeth Duncan made it to state as individual qualifiers for the second year in a row to lead the Little Cyclone effort.
More: How a sophomore trio has the Ames girls golf team looking like a contender for the state tournament
Motl shot a seven-over-par score of 80 to earn medalist runner-up. Southeast Polk's Rylin Davidson was medalist with a 76.
Motl had two birdies during the meet. She shot a 38 in and 42 out.
Duncan placed fifth with an 83. She scored a 42 in and 41 out and had one birdie.
Ankeny Centennial's Payton Drefke took third with an 81 and Des Moines East's Saleah Vivanh-Vong was fourth with an 82.
The other golfers to turn in counted scores for Ames were Estelle Wong and Danielle Randick. Wong placed 15th individually with a 98 and Randick took 20th with a 106.
Leah Becker and Jessie Lohman also competed for Ames. Becker placed 26th with a 110 and Lohman 29th with a 112.
The 4A girls state golf meet takes place May 25 and 26 at the Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny.
Gilbert, Nevada and R-S girls also headed to state
The Gilbert, Nevada and Roland-Story girls golf teams also advanced to state.
Gilbert, the 3A state runner-up each of the past two seasons, and Nevada took first and second at the 3A regional final meet held at the Carroll Golf Club in Carroll Wednesday. The Tigers shot a 321 and the Cubs a 350 over 18 holes.
Gilbert's Lohrbach sisters, Eden and twins Ella and Ava, were the top three individual scorers at Carroll. Eden won medalist with a 76, Ella carded a 79 and Ava shot an 80.
Nevada's Olivia Axmear and Bridget Cahill placed fourth and fifth as individual state qualifiers with respective rounds of 81 and 82. Gilbert's Macy Underwood and Sydney Lynch tied for sixth after each shooting an 86, Nevada's Lauren Schmidt placed ninth with a 93 and the Cubs' Mary Hensley tied for 10th with a 94.
Gilbert's Josie Dukes and Nevada's Reagan Schmidt tied for 15th with a 97 and Nevada's Mya Spykerman tied for 34th with a 106.
Ballard also competed at Carroll and placed fifth with a score of 401. Chastyn Gering tied for 13th with a 95, Alliyah Thompson tied for 15th with a 97, Maddie Kielsmeier tied for 26th with a 104 and Madison Maire tied for 29th with a 105 for the Bombers.
More: Sibling synergy: What makes the Lorhbach and Carlson sisters thrive on the golf course
Roland-Story is headed back to state for the third year in a row in 2A. The Norse shot a 348 at the Carroll Municipal Golf Course in Carroll to take first by nine strokes over Van Meter.
The Carlson sisters, freshman Brinley and junior Makenna, were medalist and medalist runner-up for Roland-Story. Brinley won with an 18-hole score of 77 and Makenna carded a 78.
Abby Cook placed 15th with a 96 and Brooke Thompson 16th with a 97 as the other Norse golfers to turn in counted scores. Gabriella Wakefield tied for 18th with a 99 and Grace Corcoran tied for 20th with a 100.
The 3A girls state golf meet takes place at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls and the 2A meet will be at the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown May 25 and 26.
Gilbert boys qualify for state again
The Gilbert boys golf team will get a chance to defend its 3A state championship after placing second at the 3A district meet held at the Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City Monday.
The two-time defending 3A state champion Tiger boys took second as a team with an 18-hole score of 307. MOC-Floyd Valley won with a 287 and Spencer was the other team to qualify after placing third with a 324.
Gilbert's Brock Snyder placed third individually with a 73 to qualify individually. MOC-Floyd Valley's Davis Korver and Isaiah Hulshof were medalist and medalist runner-up with respective scores of 68 and 70 and Dutchmen freshman Carson Korver carded a 73 to place fourth after losing a card-back with Snyder.
The 3A boys state meet will be at Veenker. It takes place this upcoming Monday and Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames girls golf team places second at regionals to qualify for state
