AMES

The most anxious moments were the finish. And the wait.

Once Hillcrest Academy’s Jace Rempel finished off the Ravens’ second round in the Class 1A Boys State Golf Championship Tuesday at the Ames Golf & Country Club, word spread among the crowd in whispers that the Ravens had won.

The players waited for the rest of the players in the field to complete their rounds.

Phil Ropp, the founding golf coach at Iowa Mennonite School 30 years ago, stood with his wife, Joyce, and waited.

Phil Schintler, the Ravens’ third-year head coach, waited.

Finally, those nervous looks turned to smiles.

The Ravens won a state golf championship for the first time in school history by posting a two-day score of 650. They won the tournament by five shots over West Fork.

The victory completed an unbeaten season.

After slow starts Monday and Tuesday, the Ravens finished strongly.

Rowan Miller, a freshman who is a grandson of Ropp, shot a 4-over-par 75 Tuesday and finished tied for seventh with a two-day score of 156.

Luke Schrock, a senior, also shot 75 Tuesday and finished with a two-day total of 160 to tie for 13^th place.

Two other Ravens finished among the top 30, senior Jace Rempel with a score of 166 to tie for 22^nd place and sophomore Liam Schrock, Luke’s younger brother, who shot 169 to tie for 26^th.

Also scoring for Hillcrest were Seth Ours (186) and Josiah Beachy (187).

Mikey Takacs of Iowa City Regina Catholic and Keith Thompson of Hamburg tied for medalist honors with two-day 148 scores.

See this week’s News for more details on the state championship.