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Bobcats score silver at SEP Invite

Senior JD Pollard wins individual title with record-setting, third-straight under-par round

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown golfer Lucas Schneider hits a chip shot onto the fifth green at Copper Creek Golf Course in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday during the Southeast Polk Invitational. The Bobcats placed second as a team and JD Pollard took first individually.

PLEASANT HILL — For a second-straight day the Marshalltown boys golf team faced rainy conditions at a competitive tournament, and for a second-straight day the Bobcats braved the sloppy course to finish as runners-up.

MHS placed second in the Southeast Polk Invite at Copper Creek Golf Course on Wednesday with a round of 305, just one stroke behind team champion West Des Moines Valley’s 304. The Bobcats were just one day removed from taking runner-up honors in the Cedar Falls invite with a team score of 302, and the similarities in tournaments don’t end there.

Senior JD Pollard once again led Marshalltown on the day, though instead of finishing fifth like he did at Pheasant Ridge on Tuesday, Pollard was the best golfer on the course on Wednesday.

He finished with a third-straight under-par round by shooting a 1-under-par 70, setting a new Marshalltown school record for consecutive rounds under par which was formerly held by Jay Appel and Tyler Peglow at two-straight. It was Pollard’s first medalist honors of the season, edging out Valley’s Sam Jacobs by three strokes.

“It was fun, the rain didn’t help at the beginning but I played well during it,” Pollard said after receiving his first-place medal. “I had a lot of fun out there and had a good group of guys to play with.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown senior JD Pollard watches as his putt heads toward the hole on the fifth green at Copper Creek Golf Course in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday in the Southeast Polk Invite.

Pollard really did handle the rainy conditions that persisted early on well, finishing the back 9 — which the varsity started on — at a 2-under 34. He eagled the par-5 14th hole and birdied the par-4 11th and 18th holes, with his only blemish coming as a double bogey on the 13th.

Pollard ran into trouble at the start of the front nine, however, bogeying both the par-4 first and par-5 second holes to move back to even. He recovered well though, playing bogey-free the rest of the way and adding a birdie on the par-4 seventh to move back to his final score of 1-under.

“I heard where everybody was at then started calming down and playing a little slower,” Pollard said of how he got his rhythm back. “Took my time on my shots a little more and that helped me out a lot.”

The front nine wasn’t kind to anyone on the day, as the Bobcats alone had four bogeys and two double bogeys on the first two holes alone.

“The front nine was playing tough out there, there were some pins that were really in difficult locations,” MHS head coach Lucas Johnson said. “I saw one kid five putt from another school, so it was a case of knowing where you could miss and knowing it’s the same for everybody. We gave away a few strokes on the front nine that we don’t normally, and that was the difference between us being second or first, but overall we are starting to play some good golf at the right time of the year.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Freshman Colin Schmit was the next-best Bobcat finisher, coming in with a 6-over 77 to place 13th on a cardback. Cole Davis entered the front nine at 1-over par but had a tough go in the first few holes that put him back to 78, which was the third counting score for Marshalltown, while Brent Johnson came in with an 80 for the fourth score.

“Cole wanted to be lower today, he gave away a few strokes on the front,” coach Johnson said of the junior’s off day. “I am really proud of the way Colin Schmit played, he gave us a really nice score and stuck in there. And then Brent Johnson, he got the call up at 6:30 this morning from the junior varsity team to the varsity team, so for him to step in there and provide us with a counting score was a great thing for a senior to be able to do.”

Lucas Schneider and Grant Greazel were fifth and sixth for the Bobcats, finishing with an 81 and 82 respectively.

While placing second by just one stroke and failing to defend their title from last season at the Southeast Polk Invite might sting, Johnson said it’s actually not a bad thing for his guys to experience a close finish.

“I think it’s good for our guys to see a one-stroke loss because it makes them think about the strokes they could have had,” Johnson said. “We know that’s a part of the game so for them to see that and know that every shot counts is an important thing.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Also given four of the top 10 teams in the most recent Iowa High School Golf Coaches Association poll were in action on Wednesday, Johnson said finishing as runner-up was by no means a bad result.

“You look at today’s field, there were some really good teams here,” he said. “A score of 311 finished in fifth place, so to come out with a solid score and be right up there near the top is good.

“I am pleased with the way our guys are playing, back-to-back days against state-tournament-like teams and we’ve competed very well. I think that is giving our guys a lot of confidence.”

The Bobcats are coming down the stretch of the season now, with only one meet remaining before playing in the CIML Iowa Conference meet next Wednesday at Willow Creek Golf Course. Johnson said there are still some things the guys need to clean up before heading into postseason play.

“The biggest thing is just making sure we don’t hurt ourselves and put ourselves in positions off the tee where we can’t scramble for par,” he said. “We have guys who have played enough golf that they can scramble for par and put together a respectable score, but it’s tough to scramble for par when you are out of bounds or in a lateral water hazard.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Next up for MHS is the rescheduled Ankeny Invitational on Monday at Otter Creek Golf Course, starting at 9 a.m.

Southeast Polk Invite

At Pleasant Hill

Copper Creek Golf Course, par 71

Team Standings — 1. West Des Moines Valley 304, 2. Marshalltown 305, 3. Dowling Catholic 308, 4. Ankeny Centennial 311, 5. Waukee 311, 6. Ottumwa 316, 7. Southeast Polk 326, 8. Ankeny 331, 9. Indianola 339, 10. Urbandale 353.

Individual (top 10) — 1. JD Pollard, MHS, 70; 2. Sam Jacobs, Valley, 73; 3. Jake Calhoun, DC, 73; 4. Steven Langland, OTT, 74; 5. Cale Leonard, OTT, 74; 6. Griffin Parker, Waukee, 75; 7. Jai Mukraj, Valey, 75; 8. John Boettcher, Valley, 75; 9. Russell Rydin, AC, 77; 10. Chris McAleer, AC, 77.

MARSHALLTOWN (305) — Pollard 70, Colin Schmit 77, Cole Davis 78, Brent Johnson 80, Lucas Schneider 81, Grant Greazel 82.

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