When the difference between first place and third place is just four strokes there was no doubt the margin of error was thin at Mid-Prairie’s annual Hawk Invitational at the Kalona Golf Course on April 21.  

Finishing with an even score of 400 the Golden Hawks were able to procure a fourth place finish at its 18-hole home invitational. This year’s score of 400 tops the score of 407 the Golden Hawks scored at last year’s Hawk invitational. 

“The girl’s did a nice job today and held their own against some good competition which is what we want as we start to gear up for the conference meet and post season,” Mid-Prairie coach Tracy McArtor said. 

Fairfield claimed first place overall with a score of 397 and not too far behind them, finishing in second and third, was Williamsburg and West Branch with scores of 397 and 398 respectively. 

Earning meet medalist honors was Fairfield Senior Viola Welsh with a score of 88, she was the only golfer to have a sub 90 score. 

“I think the whole team had a few holes that they struggled on and when the difference between us and first place is only 6 shots, that’s all it takes to end up in 4th,” McArtor said. “Even so, the girl’s fought through the bad holes and some pretty windy and cool conditions that blew in to finish strong.”

Two Golden Hawk golfers procured top ten finishes, junior Madi Davidson and senior Alexa Huber. 

“Senior Alexa Huber and Junior Madi Davidson played well enough to finish in the individual medal race with Madi finishing 6th and Alexa 10th. All in all a great day for the girls today and continued improvement.”

Davidson shot 49 on the front nine and a 47 on the back nine to take sixth place with a score of 96. Her lone par of the day came on hole five after five swings of her golf club. 

“Hole five, I had a pretty long putt. It was on the fringe on the back of the green and the pin was at the front,” Davison told KCII after the meet concluded. “My putt went right next to the hole and I tapped in for par. I think we did pretty average. There’s always room for improvement.”

Huber ended her day with a score of 101 to claim tenth place. She completed the front nine after 50 strokes and the back nine was conquered after 51 strokes. 

Mid-Prairie junior Elliot Debler was not too far behind Huber, posting a score of 103, shooting a Hawk Invite team best 48 on the front nine. 

Sophomore Addison English shot a 54 on the front nine and a 50 on the back nine to finish the meet with a score of 104, senior Kylie Reiner shot a 51 on the front nine and a 55 on the back nine to arrive at a final score of 106, and junior Gabi Robetson rounded out the Mid-Prairie scoring by shooting a 50 on the front nine and a 58 on the back nine for a score of 108. 

Coming up for the Mid-Prairie girls golf team will be a dual against West Branch on May 1, the Golden Hawks won last year’s dual against West Branch, 211-219.