Trojans' Stene sits in 8th place after day 1 at districts
SIOUX CITY - NIACC freshman Austin Stene sits in a tie for eighth place Sunday after the first day at the NJCAA North Central District Championships.
Stene, who is from Lake Mills, shot an opening round of 76 at the Whispering Creek Golf Course. Stene is tied with Kirkwood's Ryan Lynch, who also shot 76.
The 76 by Stene is tied for the 11th best round at the regional/district tournament for the Trojans in the Chris Frenz era.
"It was a great day out of Austin Stene (Sunday)," Frenz said. "He did a great job of staying in the moment and putting the ball in great position to score.
"He was dialed in, especially on the front nine."
NIACC, which is in seventh place after day one with a 317, also received a 77 from sophomore Garrett Ham, who is tied for 12th in the individual medalist competition.
"Garrett Ham is also lurking after day one as he put together a solid round on a difficult scoring day for everyone."
Kirkwood's Ted Sargeant is the first-day leader with a round of 69. Kirkwood's Isaiah Zoske and Northeast CC's Emilio Lechuga are tied for second with rounds of 73.
The top two teams and one individual, which must place in the top 10, not on the top two teams qualify for the national tournament.
Kirkwood is the first-day leader with a team round of 297 and Northeast CC is in second at 301.
Also for the Trojans on Sunday, freshmen Hudson Kroymann and Heath Voigt both shot 82 and sophomore Ashtin Willms shot 86.
The second and third rounds of the district tournament are set for Monday and Tuesday.
"That's what's great about the three-day tournament," Frenz said. "As long as you don't shoot yourself out of it after day one, there's a chance to regroup and get ready to make a move (Monday).
"This team is made up of guys that don't quit. We know what we have to do (Monday)."
On Monday, Stene tees off at 9:20 a.m., Willms tees off at 9:30 a.m., Kroymann tees off at 9:40 a.m., Voigt tees off at 9:50 a.m. and Ham tees off at 10 a.m.
"It sounds like the wind might be even stronger than it was (Sunday)," Frenz said, "but we're battle tested when it comes to that.
"We look forward to the challenge."
Team standings - Kirkwood 297, Northeast CC 301, Southwestern CC 313, DMACC 314, Southeast CC (Neb.) 314, Iowa Central 315, NIACC 317, Hawkeye CC 327, Iowa Lakes 332, Alexandria T&CC 332, Southeastern CC 355, Central CC-Columbus 359.
