The Spartans were in action four of the five previous days, including an 18-hole tournament in Marshalltown at the Linda Bloom Invitational Thursday, so while not physically exhausted head coach Jocilyn Onnen said her girls had to fight through their mental fatigue.

“Today was more of a mental day for us I guess, just kind of getting through it and learning what we need to prepare for for conference,” Onnen said. “Playing 18 holes back to back with Marshalltown, just a mental toughness day for us.”

The Grundy Center girls ended up in second on the day with a team score of 450. Hudson won the Lady Spartan Invite by shooting a combined 435, and Gladbrook-Reinbeck finished in third with a 517.

As the day drew on, the scores for the Spartans started to rise, and Onnen said while the long week of competition was a factor her girls have a trend of gaining strokes the longer they are on the course.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON • Grundy Center sophomore Frannie Brown stares intently as her chip shot rolls toward the hole on the par-3 fourth hole during the Lady Spartans Invite at Town & Country Golf Club on Saturday. Brown was the highest finisher for the Spartans, taking third with a 107.

“We struggle around hole 14, we really see a decrease so that is something we really need to work on,” she said. “Our short game is where I think we struggle the most, we aren’t mentally strong right there so we need to work on that coming up but we will get better.”

Sophomore Frannie Brown was the top placer for the Spartans, finishing third with a 107. Even she was susceptible to the drop off in the back nine, however, as she followed a 52 on the first nine with a 55 on the second.

Onnen said Brown has come a long way since the start of the season and is rounding into some of her best golf.

“She is starting to peak, which is really good,” Onnen said. “She is playing well, she’s learning what she can and cannot hit, and she’s playing the course rather than the other players in her group, which I think is helping. She is recognizing which clubs she can hit really well and what she needs to work on.”

Lauren Dirks, who placed fifth in the meet for Grundy Center with a 112, was one of the only Spartans to replicate her performance on both trips through the course, shooting a 56 on each pass. Onnen said Dirks is a reliable golfer for her squad so it was good to see her be so consistent.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON • Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s Reagan Skovgard holds her shot as she approaches the green on the par-5 ninth hole to finish her day at the Lady Spartans Invite at Town & Country Golf Club on Saturday. Skovgard placed seventh for the Rebels.

“Lauren is definitely one of our solid players, she is going to be one of our go-to girls all the time,” Onnen said. “She knows that and doesn’t feel the pressure anymore, which is good. Her short game is what we need to work with.”

Lauren Krausman finished in a tie for seventh for Grundy Center with a 115, while Claire Verly shot a 116 to finish in a tie for ninth. Lauren Buhrow and Jessica Ayers finished out the Spartan scores with a 119 and 120.

Reagan Skovgard led the Rebels with a 115, tieing with Krausman for seventh, followed by Ella Murphy with a 126, Chloe Ritche with a 131, Gracey Nagle’s 145, Maia McLean’s 147 and Paige Creswell’s 151.

Hudson had both medalists, with Klaire Krpfl taking first with a 99 and Morgan Kegebein placing second with a 102.

Now that the Spartan girls have made it through these last five competitions in six days, Onnen said she’s seeing a lot of good things out of her squad, including some great teamwork.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

“We are excited, we are starting to see our numbers drop, which is a great feeling,” she said. “We are getting really strong as a team, the girls play for the team and they don’t play as individuals, which is really nice to see. They know if they play well as an individual it will just help the team too. I think next week we will keep seeing our numbers drop, and with two practices instead of no practices that will help.”

Grundy Center next hits the links when it hosts Aplington-Parkersburg and Iowa Falls-Alden on Monday at Town & Country Golf Club, starting at 4 p.m. Gladbrook-Reinbeck next hosts AGWSR, South Hardin and West Marshall at Oak Leaf Country Club on Tuesday.

Lady Spartans Invite

At Grundy Center

Town & Country Golf Club, par 36

Team Standings — 1. Hudson 435, 2. Grundy Center 450, 3. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 517

Individual (top 10) — 1. Klaire Krpfl, Hudson, 99; 2. Morgan Kegebein, Hudson, 102; 3. (tie) Frannie Brown, GC, 107; Abby Gaudian, Hudson, 107; 5. (tie) Lauren Dirks, GC, 112; Kelsi Brown, Jesup, 112; 7. (tie) Lauren Krausman, GC, 115; Reagan Skovgard, G-R, 115; 9. (tie) Claire Verly, GC, 116; Kenedy Backes, Jesup, 116.

HUDSON (435) — Krpfl 99, Kegebein 102, Gaudian 107, Alexis Schares 127, Kayla Carolan 128, Ellie Brown 133.

GRUNDY CENTER (450) — Brown 107, Dirks 112, Krausman 115, Verly 116, Lauren Buhrow 119, Jessica Ayers 120.

GLADBROOK-REINBECK (517) — Skovgard 115, Ella Murphy 126, Chloe Ritchey 131, Gracey Nagle 145, Maia McLean 147, Paige Creswell 151.

JESUP — Brown 112, Backes 116.