By: Dana Becker
Messenger Sports Staff
ANKENY — Iowa Central's Abby Gaudian worked her way to a second consecutive round of 79 here Tuesday at the NJCAA Plains District Championships, earning herself a spot in the upcoming national golf tournament.
Gaudian finished in a tie for eighth and earned one of the automatic individual bids that went out to the Top-3 individuals not from the qualifying schools.
Barton overtook Iowa Western for team gold, ending a run of 12 consecutive national-qualifying team titles for the Reivers. Barton finished with a two-day total of 613 at Otter Creek Golf Course, while Iowa Western fired a 618.
Des Moines Area was third, followed by Iowa Central. Gaudian, who celebrated her birthday on Monday, becomes the second individual qualifier in recent years for ICCC head coach Kris Graewin, joining former Humboldt standout Kelly Boleyn.
"So dang happy for Abby and all of her accomplishments this spring," Graewin said. "She really deserved a chance to compete at nationals and I'm thrilled she'll be able to test her abilities against the best in the country. She played a magnificent first nine holes and then had a dumb ruling on her 11th hole which ended up costing her another stroke but she was able to steady herself and finish off the round in the final qualifying spot."
A two-over front-nine for Gaudian included birdies on the par-3 No. 4 and par-4 No. 9. She added a birdie on the par-4 17th while recording seven pars on the day.
Faith Malloy had an 85, finishing in a tie for 13th, while Boleyn fired an 89 to place 22nd overall. Olivia Tait tied for 30th and Ella Dinsdale tied for 44th.
"Overall as a team we didn't play our best (Tuesday)," Graewin said. "I thought there were some moments where we showed a lack of composure and a lack of understanding what the golf course was giving us. But we'll be able to learn from those mistakes and take it into the future.
"This marked the end of two of our ladies careers as Tritons. Ella improved a tremendous amount over her time and has signed a scholarship to play at Missouri Baptist next year. I'm very excited to see what her future holds.
"Kelly finished her time as well and it's going to be very weird not having her around any more. She's been a huge part of my program and the Triton golf family. Her impact is going to be felt for a very, very long time."
Iowa Western's Baylie Pyke had matching rounds of 73 to claim individual gold, with Barton's Yu Wei Chiang finishing second. Pyke's teammate, Madi Schlaepfer, was third.
Gaudian tied for the tournament lead with Pike by shooting a 1-over on the par-3s. She had 18 pars and three birdies, while Malloy also had three birdies and Tait 17 pars.
The NJCAA will select a handful of at-large qualifiers in the coming days. The national tournament takes place May 9-12 in Garden City, Kan. from Buffalo Dunes Golf Course.