The Iowa Central men's golf team fired a 289 to hold a 12-stroke lead at their own invitational on Saturday.

Briar Cliff and Iowa Lakes are tied for second followed by Illinois Central, Grinnell College, Alexandria Tech, Waldorf, North Iowa Area and Westminster College.

A second men's team for the Tritons fired a round of 303, which would place them fourth.

Jackson Gray of Illinois Central holds the overnight individual lead after a 2-under round. Second round action begins at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Fort Dodge Country Club.

Iowa Central's Liam Ross is a shot behind Gray after a 1-under round, while Austin Erickson is tied for third after firing a 71. Justin Schipper is seventh with a 73 and both Sam Evenson and Tomas Ribeiro carded rounds of 74 and are tied for eighth.

Ross had had three birdies and an eagle on the day, while Erickson recorded four birdies. Schipper had three, as did Evenson, with Matthew Kruger recording four. 

"Very pleased with how we played," Iowa Central head coach Kris Graewin said. "We were able to capitalize on some opportunities, but we left some strokes out there. Liam played really solid fo this round, but also made a couple of mistakes. Austin had a typical round of solid golf.

"Overall, it's nice to show our depth with our teams shooting 289 and 303. The biggest thing is trying to make sure we peak at the right time."

Kruger is tied for 12th, Manning Lane and Simon Mitchell are tied for 17th, and Ruan Jooste is tied for 34th. Jordan England sits in 52nd overall. 

-By Dana Becker