-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Drew Schaeffer

NEWTON — Tough conditions greeted the competitors here Thursday at the Class 1A state golf tournament.

AGWSR battled through to claim the lead after round one, five strokes ahead of Newell-Fonda.

North Tama is third followed by East Buchanan, Fremont-Mills, Mason City Newman, St. Edmond, Council Bluffs St. Albert and North Cedar.

The Cougars fired a team score of 333 behind the play of Trey Lashbrook and Ben Macy, who each shot 80s.

For the Mustangs, Hogan Henrich shares the individual lead with Harris-Lake Park’s Lucas Gunderson after both carded rounds of 76. St. Edmond’s Drew Schaeffer is tied for 10th after his 81.

“It was a very good first day,” Newell-Fonda head coach Nathan Baron said. “We played well in tough conditions to start. I thought the guys did a great job of staying composed throughout the round.”

Caleb Schaeffer had an 88, Peyton Scott a 92, Devon Wirtz a 99, Riley Travis a 104 and Ben Anderson a 112.

It was an identical pair of nine holes for Drew Schaeffer, as the senior carded a 5-over on the front and a 5-over on the back. He recorded nine pars and played the par-5 holes in just 1-over.

“It was a tough day for the guys,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “We need certain people to be able to score for us to have a chance and that didn’t happen. Hopefully, we can turn it around on Friday and do something.”

Scott picked up a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole, which helped him take three strokes off his opening round nine score. He also had four pars on the day.

“If we can play like we are capable of, we’ll be right back in this thing,” Dillon said. “At this level, you can’t have that many counting scores in the 90s and expect to contend.”

Along with Henrich, Izak Baron shot an 84, Jake DeMey carded an 89, Mason Dicks a 93 and Hunter Christiansen a 93 for the five counting scorers.

Henrich had two birdies, 11 pars and seven bogeys for his day, shooting 2-over on the front nine. He played the par-5 holes in 2-under, with his birdies coming on back-to-back par-5s at the eighth and ninth.

“It was fantastic to see us be in position to compete for a state title,” Baron said. “Hogan has been our top guy all year and he was again (Thursday). We also had some solid rounds from Izak and Jake to help us.

“I am excited to see what (Friday) brings.”

Baron picked up a birdie at the par-4 fourth and also recorded six pars.

Second round play at the Westwood Golf Club takes place on Friday. The course is just under 6,400 yards with 11 par-4, four par-3 and three par-5 holes.

Golfers will begin at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start.

Emmetsburg eighth in 2A

The Emmetsburg golf team sits in a tie for eighth overall after first round play in the Class 2A state meet at Lakeside Golf Course.

Lake Mills is the overnight leader followed by West Branch and Grundy Center, with three teams separated by just three strokes.

Drew Van Roekel of Boyden-Hull fired a 1-over round of 73 and sits three shots ahead of a trio of golfers for the individual lead. Emmetsburg’s Keegan Joyce is tied for 14th overall.