Woodward golf takes on regionals, baseball opens up with big win

It's just about time to turn the page and say hello to summer sports for Woodward-Granger. (Note: Events covered May 11-16)

Girls Golf

Woodward-Granger lived to golf another day, taking third place at the May 13 regionals in Van Meter with a team score of 447. That was narrowly behind second place South Hamilton (439) but provided plenty of room from being eliminated with Des Moines Christian (489). Van Meter won the evening with a score of 393.

Individually, Lindsay Mescher tied for fourth with 102 strokes to qualify on her own but now with the whole team making the cut, she will be joined by her supporting cast on May 18 at West Marshall for the regional finals. It will take a big day on the green to move on to the state tournament, however. Other qualifiers Williamsburg, West Marshall and Albia all shot below 410 at their first regional round. All six individual qualifiers shot below 95.

Boys Golf

There was one survivor from last week's sectional meet that took on districts on Monday. After shooting an 81 at Central Decatur, Nick Bermel was the Hawks' lone player to advance but his journey came to a close at West Marshall, falling short of the state qualifying list that featured two Des Moines Christian members. 

Girls Track

The Hawks hit the track for the last time of the year after competing in the state qualifying meet May 12 at PCM. Surrounded by teams submitting handfuls to run again at Drake Stadium this week, it was difficult to get a word in the conversation. Still, a good share of Hawks walked away knowing they put their best and fastest feet forward.

In the 100-meter dash, both Kiki Gregory (14.72 seconds) and Macy Lisle (15.37) recorded personal records. The 800-meter run also saw two PRs recorded between Tian Turner (3:10.63) and Elena Bortot (3:19.48). Lauren Rodgers' throw of 90 feet was her new best in the discus. All of those marks were also the best for the team this year. Gregory, Turner and Rodgers all return with at least another year of eligibility to push their limits again.

Boys Track

Woodward-Granger's season came to an end at the May 12 state qualifier in PCM as conference-mate Des Moines Christian won the evening, sending a busload of Lions to the state meet along with other top teams, Pella Christian, Williamsburg and Roland-Story.

Baseball

The new season kicked off in grand fashion as the Hawks took down ACGC on the road 11-2 on Monday. It took Woodward 10 games to cross double digits last season and was also a nice turnaround from last year's 5-0 loss to the Chargers in the first round of the quarterfinals. Perhaps a good omen, it was also the program's largest season-opening win since a 10-1 victory over Ogden in 2017. That team went on to a 29-6 record before being just left out of the state tournament.

Softball

The softball season will begin Wednesday with a home doubleheader against Earlham. The Cardinals won both of last year's games by double digits and haven't lost to the Hawks since 2016.