Storm Lake boys golf takes third at Tornado Invitational

Trey Boettcher’s runner-up round put Storm Lake one tiebreaker away from second place, and the Tornadoes left BVU Lake Creek with a clear sign they can score with the area’s better golf teams. Boettcher shot a 73 Saturday in the Tornado Invitational, helping Storm Lake finish third with a 309, just behind Spencer, which also posted a 309 but took second on the fifth-player tiebreaker.

MOC-Floyd Valley won the meet with a 303, so the gap at the top was only six strokes. That matters for a Storm Lake lineup that did not lean on one standout and hope for the best. Carson Taylor and Chase Mathistad each added 77s, while Cam Boyd, Bobby Boeckman and Jayden Butler all came in at 82. That spread gave the Tornadoes a balanced scorecard and kept them in the hunt deep into the team standings.

Boettcher’s 73 was the round that set the pace, and it was enough to tie for runner-up medalist honors. More important for Storm Lake was how the rest of the lineup held together behind him. Three scores in the 70s and three in the low 80s gave the Tornadoes a total that was competitive from top to bottom, the kind of result that can travel in postseason play if the group keeps stacking similar rounds.

The meet also carried added local weight because it was played at BVU Lake Creek in Storm Lake, Buena Vista University’s 18-hole course. BVU says the course opened in 1972, celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2022 and was named the Iowa Golf Association’s 18-Hole Iowa Course of the Year for 2021. A strong finish there came with the sort of home-course familiarity that makes a third-place result feel even more telling.

The rest of the local scoreboard offered a wider snapshot of golf across Buena Vista County and nearby schools. Newell-Fonda finished 10th with a 342, led by Carter Emerick and Landen Kruse with 83s. Alta-Aurelia was 11th at 344, getting a 79 from Cale Sievers, an 83 from Austin Droegmiller, a 90 from Braden Aronson and 92s from Eli Rieb and Dayn Simonsen.

Storm Lake’s 309 was also a clear step forward from last year’s Tornado Invitational, when the Tornadoes finished fourth with a 318 and Boettcher carded a 76. That nine-stroke improvement, combined with a near-runner-up finish, suggests the Tornadoes are closing the gap on the top of the field rather than just hanging around it.