Fremont-Mills returning to state golf meet


The Fremont-Mills golf team will be making its second straight trip to the state golf tournament next week.

A year after punching the school’s first trip to the state golf, Fremont-Mills is on its way back.

Led by Jake Malcom’s fifth place finish, the Knights shot a team round of 355 to place second to district champion Akron-Westfield by two strokes at the Class 1A Boys District Golf Meet at Majestic Hills Golf Course in Denison Monday.

Both Fremont-Mills and Akron-Westfield advance to next week’s Class 1A state tournament at the Ames Country Club in Ames, May 23-24. 

Remsen St. Mary’s Mason Lavern carded an 80 to win top individual honors. Lavern along with runner up Emerson Pratt of Kingsley-Pierson, Cory Bantam of Woodbine and Gehlen Catholic’s Dawson Barthole earn individual state meet nods.

Carter Wilken led Akron-Westfield with an 84.

Fremont-Mills coach Greg Ernster couldn’t be prouder of his team as they battled a a course at Denison “brutal.”

“I received a lot of info from Hawkeye 10 coaches about even the really good golfers struggle there,” he said. “So I just told the kids to relax as much as possible and just let the game happen. We tried. It to talk about going to state more or less play our game. 

Malcolm turned in the best score for Fremont-Mills, but it was a double-bogey on the sixth hole that turned the senior – and the Knights’ fortunes – at districts.

“We had a quick conversation and he flipped the switch after that and played a really good round,” Ernster said. 

Also coming up big for the Knights was the 89 turned in by Tucker Stille and a 91 by Caden Blackburn.

“Both shot career bests today. Both have been spending extra time golfing on their own time,” Ernster said. “Today it showed.”

Cooper Marvel shot a 94 to complete the Knights’ scoring.

Both Marvel and Malcom are the rare dual-sport athletes to have earned state bids in two sports this spring. Marvel (shot put) and Malcom (high jump) were both state track qualifiers as well.

“We are very proud of the fact that we have dual sport athletes competing in state,” Ernster said. “The hard part will be trying to find time to get a practice round in for them.”

The Opinion-Tribune

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