Natalie Henson

ANKENY — Natalie Henson carded 11 consecutive pars to finish her round, earning medalist honors to lead the Marshalltown girls’ golf team to a fourth-place finish at Thursday’s Toni Dickey Invitational hosted by Ankeny at Otter Creek Golf Course.

Henson had four bogeys on the first seven holes but parred the rest, settling in for a 40-35–75 that was good for the low round of the tournament. She defeated Ankeny Centennial’s Payton Drefke on a cardback for medalist honors after both players shot 4-under par.

The Bobcats finished with a 370 team total, trailing Ames (343), Southeast Polk (360) and Centennial (366) in the 12-team event.

“Natalie Henson had an outstanding day to cap off an outstanding week,” said MHS head coach Lucas Johnson. “Early in the round she was having difficulty judging her approach shots, but did an amazing job adjusting to the conditions ending her day with 10 straight pars.”

Gaby Estabrook earned sixth place individually for the Bobcats with her round of 82, while Harper Wilson ranked 16th in the tournament at 92.

Emma Clawson closed out the scoring rounds for MHS with her 121.

“Gaby Estabrook had her best round of the year, especially given the weather,” said Johnson, “and was able to take advantage of the par-5s by making birdies on both No. 5 and No. 11.”

“Emma Clawson had her first counting score at the varsity level and shot in the 50s for the first time as well on the front nine,” Johnson continued. “That type of continual improvement is what we need to see our overall team score keep trending in the right direction.”

The Bobcats return to action on Monday with the Turk Bowman Invite at 10 a.m. at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames.