-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla MacKenzie McCarten of Humboldt compete during St. Edmond Invitational on Monday at Fort Dodge Country Club

The Humboldt girls golf team returned to the top of the North Central Conference here Monday, claiming the league title from Clear Lake.

With four finishing in the Top-6, the Wildcats had a 350 at the Fort Dodge Country Club, 18 shots ahead of the Lions. Hampton-Dumont was third followed by Algona, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Iowa Falls-Alden, St. Edmond and Webster City.

Clear Lake’s Ashley DeLong took home medalist honors with an 83, two strokes better than Humboldt’s Frances Carlson and St. Edmond’s Rylee Kinney. Carlson won the tiebreaker for second with Kinney placing third.

Carlson’s teammates, Nora Carlson, Kenzie McCarten and Kelly Boleyn, finished fourth, fifth and sixth overall, respectively. Arielle Naeve (99) and Adi Birdsell (120) rounded out the Wildcat lineup.

“We played even better than I thought we would,” Humboldt head coach Jessica Harklau said. “With four returning players from last year, we thought we would be contenders against Clear Lake. (The Lions) have a very solid golf program and played really well.

“It seems like (Humboldt and Clear Lake) go back-and-forth for the team title over the last several years.”

Harklau also noted that her players seemed confident battling at FDCC course, thanks to a dual with Fort Dodge that was held last week. The Wildcats shot a 181 to defeat the Dodgers in the nine-hole meet.

“We played the back-nine and that can be a little more difficult for girls,” Harklau said. “You have to know when to set shots up and when to lay up; you can’t just pull out driver every shot.”

Amanda Richman was second for St. Edmond with a 110, followed by Kierstin Clark (131), Hannah Zinnel (134) and Cameron Brown (136).

“We were missing some of our varsity players again, but the girls played really well on a difficult golf course,” SEHS head coach Kelsey Felch said. “We need to work on remaining consistent throughout the round.”

Kinney, coming off a runner-up finish at CYO last Wednesday, had one birdie and six pars on her round. She finished with a 38 on the front nine, which was the lowest nine-hole score on the day.

“It’s always nice to be able to play on my home course, and it was in great shape,” Kinney said. “I was really happy with how I played on the front nine. It’s nice having a competitive conference to push you to play better.”

Algona’s Hallie Lovstad cracked the Top-10 with her 95, placing ninth. Shaylen Knapp (99), Aly Yokimishyn (112) and Carlie Yokimishyn (113) followed for the Bulldogs.

Eden Polzin was the low scorer for Clarion-Goldfield/Dows with her 97, as Ashlyn DeCoster (104), Hannah Tew (108) and Nicole Waters (112) rounded out the lineup.

For Webster City, Katie Casady and Ella Dinsdale each fired 115s.