Alta-Aurelia sweeps Sioux Central in Twin Lakes golf dual

Alta-Aurelia’s golfers turned a home-course afternoon at Aurelia Golf Club into a clean sweep of Sioux Central, with both the girls and boys teams winning by 19 strokes and giving the Warriors an early spring marker in Twin Lakes Conference play.

The girls set the tone with a 200-219 victory. Avery Westphal led Alta-Aurelia with a 43 to earn medalist honors, while Quimby Kies and Kamdyn Diischer helped build the team total. Kenna VanOort added a 54, Abree Maldonado shot 55 and Leah Kannegieter finished at 58, giving Alta-Aurelia enough depth to hold off a Sioux Central lineup that was paced by Ava McCarty and Natalye Frek, who each carded 51. Sioux Central also counted rounds of 58 from Natalie Rusk, 59 from Kennedy Brown, 59 from Keely Spooner and 68 from Kayley Hermstad.

The final numbers showed why the result mattered beyond the top scorecard line. Alta-Aurelia’s girls did not just rely on Westphal’s medalist round, they had five golfers finish between 43 and 58. That kind of spread can matter in a small-school conference season where every stroke can swing a dual and where lineup depth often decides which program stays in the hunt through April.

The boys were even more convincing, finishing at 160 to Sioux Central’s 179. Austin Droegmiller shot a 35 to take medalist honors, Eli Rieb followed with a 39 and Braden Aronson added a 41, while Cale Sievers and Dayn Simonsen each carded 45s to seal the win. Titus Koster led Sioux Central with a 42, with Luke Chindlund and Boden Bright also in the mix for the Rebels.

For Alta-Aurelia, the sweep fit the tone set earlier in the week, when coach Jill Byers said, “This is our second meet of the season and first time breaking 200 this year.” The girls backed that up with another sub-200 outing, and the boys’ 160 stood out as one of the strongest team totals in the area roundup. The Warriors also won the boys JV meet, while Alta-Aurelia’s girls JV was led by Jaylee Martinez with a 58, followed by Brylee Bengtson at 63, Lilth Pantoja at 64, Kara Bryant at 66, Leyla Molinsky at 70 and Bryndalyn Brock at 72. Emersyn Franzmeier shot a 66 for Sioux Central.