Five members of the young Golden Hawk girls finished with scores between 60 and 64 on Monday at the Kalona Golf Course, but Tipton edged Mid-Prairie 238-248 behind a 43 from the Tiger’s medalist Alli Nash. 

Freshman Elliott Debler led Mid-Prairie with a score of 60, just two strokes behind the runner-up medalist, while Madelyn Bender and Madi Davidson each finished with 62 strokes. 

“Was nice to get on our home course, although the kids were not able to take advantage of the home field today,” Mid-Prairie coach Tracy McArtor said. “We really struggled on and around the greens and with a few errant tee shots. Overall, the kids are still making progress and the more reps we get in at practice will pay off down the road.”

Gabi Robertson and Alexa Huber each shot a round of 64 and Madison Witthoft finished with a score of 83. 

“We aren’t far off from having kids starting to post scores in the 50’s,” McArtor said. “Next week we’ll be back home for our invitational and that will give the girls an opportunity to have at it again.”

On Monday, Madi Davidson led the Mid-Prairie girls with 54 strokes in a 209-237 loss to West Branch. Madelyn Bender and Gabi Robertson each posted a score of 59 at the Cedars Edge Golf Course in West Branch. 

“The kids improved on their team score once again, cutting five shots off what they posted at Columbus last week,” coach Tracy McArtor said. “We also saw new season lows from junior Madelyn Bender, freshman Madi Davidson and freshman Madison Witthoft with their scores of 59, 54 and 71, respectively.”

Alexa Huber finished with 65 strokes, Elliot Debler shot a 71 and Claire Zirkelbach shot a round of 74. 

“It’s great seeing the kids get better each time they tee it up,” McArtor said. “We are continuing to make improvements each time we go out, whether practice or a meet is great.  We know that short game and putting is our biggest area that needs improvement and will continue to work hard on those aspects of the game.”