The Comets shot a 312 team score, five strokes shy of conference champions Don Bosco. Mason Martin led the way for BCLUW with an even-par 70 on his scorecard as individual runner-up, one stroke behind Colo-NESCO/Collins-Maxwell’s Austin Hennick.

BCLUW head coach Heath Rhinehart said he would have to go digging deep in the archives to find an 18-hole performance better than Wednesday, everything coming together at the perfect time.

“We’ve always had one guy that shoots his potential and just couldn’t get a team,” Rhinehart said. “Today was a perfect day, no one can complain about their scores and we played what we’re capable of playing today — it was awesome.”

Zaden Eggers was third overall with a 75 for the Comets. Nate Bishop added an 83 and Bodie Butler shot 84 toward the team score. Lincoln Stover and Evan Andrews added an 88 and 91, respectively.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - BCLUW freshman Zaden Eggers pitches to the third green during Thursday’s Iowa Star Conference meet in Traer. Eggers finished third individually with a round of 75.

“Every kid I saw that came through was calm,” Rhinehart said. “We didn’t let one bad shot turn into two bad shots. Cliché to say, but they really did stay within themselves, and that’s all you can ask.”

Martin was 1-over after six holes and then finished the front nine birdie-birdie-par. He had just one bogey on the back nine, finishing with five consecutive pars.

“I was doing great on putts,” said Martin, a junior. “I only had 16 on the front and 15 on the back, and my chipping was great today. That’s 90 percent of the game, so when I get that going for me, I have a great round. … Everyone had a great day. Everyone was out there at peak performance.”

Earlier in the week, Martin shot an 88 at the Comets’ home invite at Oakwood Golf Course in the only other 18-hole competitive round the team has played this season. Martin averages 44.33 per nine hole meet, and was far below that as well.

“I would say that his year so far up to this point had been disappointing,” Rhinehart said. “He hadn’t put it together yet this year. This is what I expected from him, not necessarily even par every time but in the 30s almost every round, but there’s been one hiccup here or there on the course. So I’m happy for him sticking with it.”

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - North Tama senior Lucas DeBoef chips onto the third green during his round of 78, which led the Redhawks.

Rhinehart emphasizes the importance of all the meets in May, and this performance certainly kicks off what could be a very productive postseason for the Comets.

“I think this gives everyone a lot of confidence, gives us spirit for the upcoming meets and a good goal to go for,” Martin said.

North Tama’s Lucas DeBoef was eighth overall to lead the Redhawks with a 78. North Tama finished fourth out of eight teams with a 339. Michael Schrier added an 82.

Zach Duncan led GMG with a 91 and Kaleb Gill added a 98.

Iowa Star Conference Meet

Traer Golf Club, par 70

Team Standings — 1. Don Bosco 307, 2. BCLUW 312, 3. Colo-NESCO 325, 4. North Tama 339, 5. Waterloo Christian 343, 6. Tripoli 351, 7. Dunkerton 358, 8. Riceville 423.

Individual (top 10) — 1. Austin Hennick, C-N, 69; 2. Mason Martin, BCLUW, 70; 3. Zaden Eggers, BCLUW, 75; 4. Andrew Kimball, DB, 76; 5. Ty Purdy, DB, 76; 6. Blake Irvine, DB, 77; 7. Jace Huntrods, C-N, 87; 8. Lucas DeBoef, NT, 78; 9. Myles McMahon, DB, 78; 10. Dawson Youngblut, DB, 78.

BCLUW (312) — Martin 70, Eggers 75, Nate Bishop 83, Bodie Butler 84, Lincoln Stover 88, Evan Andrews 91.

NORTH TAMA (339) — DeBoef 78, Michael Schrier 82, Levi Zobel 86, Tyler Popelka 93, Case Monat 101, Keegan Brooks 102.

GMG — Zach Duncan 91, Kaleb Gill 98, Trey Laffoon 126.