ATLANTIC — After a long day of 18 holes of golf, a combined five strokes separated the top two girls teams and the top two boys teams here Tuesday at the Atlantic Tournament.
The Creston/O-M girls bested defending Class 3A state champion Atlantic at its home tournament with a score of 364, edging the Trojans by one stroke for the team title.
Shenandoah and Harlan tied for third with a team score of 398, making it a two-team race at the top.
On the other side, the Creston/O-M boys lost out on the top spot to Norwalk by just four strokes 317-321. Ballard finished third with a score of 324.
Champs
Despite posting the two lowest individual scores of the day, Atlantic fell by one stroke to the Panthers in the girls competition.
The Panthers, meanwhile, put all four scoring members of the team in the tournament’s top 10 individually.
“We really brought it all together today,” Creston/O-M junior Camryn Somers said. “It’s one thing to win the tournament, but to beat the defending state champs on their home course makes it an even better win.”
Atlantic’s Brooke Newell (79) and Erin Olsen (84) had the lowest scores of the day, but Panther junior Madison Hance was right in the thick of things with her 18-hole round of 87. Freshman Ashton Carter finished fourth overall with an 89.
Another Panther freshman, Sophia Groumoutis, took seventh overall with a round of 92, while Somers finished 10th by carding a 96.
“Words can’t describe how proud I am of this team,” said Hance, a returning state qualifier for the Panthers. “We have come so far in such a short time, and I know that we will continue to improve as a team. Big things are in our future!”
Boys
At the boys tournament at Atlantic Golf and Country Club, the Panthers finished just four strokes behind Norwalk for the team title.
Three Panthers finished in the top 10 individually, led by Coleton Hoepker’s eighth-place finish with his 9-over par round of 78.
Sophomore Kyle Somers carded a 79 for ninth place and senior Christian Groumoutis finished 10th overall with his round of 80.
Sam Hartsock rounded out the team scoring with his score of 84.
The Panther boys return to action Thursday at the Nodaway Valley Tournament.
Atlantic Tournament
GIRLS
Nishna Hills Golf Club
Team scores — 1. Creston/O-M 364, 2. Atlantic 365, 3. Shenandoah 398, 3. Harlan 398, 5. Norwalk 415, 6. Clarinda 420, 7. Denison-Schleswig 460, 8. Winterset 516.
Medalists (Top 12) — 1. Brooke Newell, Atlantic, 79; 2. Erin Olsen, Atlantic, 84; 3. Madison Hance, Creston/O-M, 87; 4. Ashton Carter, Creston/O-M, 89; 5. Ciara Burnison, Shenandoah, 90; 6. Anna Carlson, Shenandoah, 91; 7. Sophia Groumoutis, Creston/O-M, 92; 8. Meghan Christensen, Harlan, 92; 9. Rachel Weber, Norwalk, 95; 10. Camryn Somers, Creston/O-M, 96; 11. Sarah Fixmer, Atlantic, 97; 12. Amber Gross, Harlan, 99.
Creston/O-M (364) — Madison Hance 87, Ashton Carter 89, Sophia Groumoutis 92, Camryn Somers 96, Hayley Osmun 153.
BOYS
Atlantic Golf and Country Club
Team scores — 1. Norwalk 317, 2. Creston/O-M 321, 3. Ballard 324, 4. Kuemper Catholic 328, 5. Denison-Schleswig 334, 6. Glenwood 335, 7. Shenandoah 335, 8. Atlantic 341, 9. Clarinda 350, 10. Harlan 353, 11. Red Oak 355, 12. Winterset 360, 13. Lewis Central 375.
Medalists (Top 12) — 1. Nash Bucher, Ballard, 73; 2. Parker Eller, Denison-Schleswig, 74; 3. Carter Albrecht, Norwalk, 74; 4. Kobe Rhodes, Glenwood, 75; 5. Jake Olsen, Atlantic, 77; 6. Carter Mallett, Norwalk, 77; 7. Connor Paulsen, Denison-Schleswig, 78; 8. Coleton Hoepker, Creston/O-M, 78; 9. Kyle Somers, Creston/O-M, 79; 10. Christian Groumoutis, Creston/O-M, 80; 11. Ryan Feauto, Kuemper Catholic, 80; 12. Kyle Nelson, Atlantic, 80.
Creston/O-M (321) — Coleton Hoepker 78, Kyle Somers 79, Christian Groumoutis 80, Sam Hartsock 84, Michael Stults 86, Gavin Sickels 94.