Ridge View boys win conference golf, girls place third

Robert Forristal clinched medalist honors with a playoff hole after carding a 37, and his round was the hinge for Ridge View’s dominant Western Valley Conference win at Holstein Country Club on April 9, 2026. Ridge View finished with a team total of 152, beating second-place Kingsley-Pierson by 19 strokes and outpacing MVAOCOU (177) and Westwood (183) in the boys home meet at Holstein, Iowa.

Forristal and teammate Reid Stricklett each shot 37, with Forristal prevailing in the tiebreaker; Kellen Clausen, Drew Burk and Hayden Hawthorne each added 39s and Ty Clausen carded a 42 to round out the scoring five. On the JV side, Leo Nedved shot a 39 for Ridge View. The Holstein Country Club layout, a 9-hole par-35 course listed at roughly 3,126–3,152 yards, helps explain why mid-to-high 30s translate into headline rounds and why Ridge View’s balance of two 37s and three 39s converted into a lopsided team margin.

The size of the victory matters for postseason positioning because it demonstrates both top-end firepower and depth across the five counting scores. Ridge View’s 152 at Holstein follows program results from 2024–25 that show sustained competitiveness: the Raptors qualified for the 2A state tournament on May 27–28, 2025 at Gates Park Country Club with a two-day total of 648 (Day 1: 325, Day 2: 323) and finished sixth, and Ridge View won a district meet on May 20, 2025 with a team 320 while Kellen Clausen was medalist at 68. Those past postseason performances, combined with April 9’s margin, suggest coach Alex Warnke and athletic director Joel Brus have a roster capable of earning favorable seedings in district and regional pairings.

Ridge View’s girls team competed separately at Quimby Golf Club and finished third with a 195, while Westwood took first at 174. Chloe Murphy led the girls with a 45 for Ridge View, followed by Zoey Aschinger (47), Claire Wandrey (51) and Chloe Kinney (52). Quimby’s 9-hole par-36 layout, listed at approximately 2,511–2,807 yards, presents a slightly different challenge than Holstein; Ridge View’s 195 highlights competitive depth but also identifies clear room to shave strokes if the girls aim to convert near-misses into wins later in the conference rotation.

Beyond immediate bragging rights, named medalists now have verifiable rounds to show college coaches: Buena Vista University in Storm Lake fields men’s and women’s collegiate programs and remains a logical local option for Raptors pursuing play beyond high school. With conference meets continuing through April and May at rotation sites including Kingsley-Pierson and Westwood, Ridge View’s coaching staff will likely use the Holstein scorecard data to refine pairings and short-game work before district and regional events. The 19-stroke victory at Holstein marks a clear early-season signal that Ridge View’s boys roster is positioned to contend for conference titles and favorable postseason seeding.