ANKENY — The Ottumwa girls golf team travelled to Ankeny on Thursday to take a look at some of the best girls golf teams in the state.

And the Bulldogs found out they are among them.

Ottumwa finished third as a team on Thursday at the Ankeny Invitational, just five strokes in back of champion West Des Moines Valley and three shots behind second-place Dowling Catholic.

“I thought we managed the course and handled the conditions really well,” said Ottumwa coach Stephanie Carroll. “We played with wind and rain all day, on a tough course against a really competitive field.”

The Bulldogs posted a team score of 369 at Otter Creek Golf Course — the site of this year’s state meet — while Valley carded 364 and Dowling 366. The Bulldogs were five shots better than Ankeny (374) and seven shots better than Ames (376) in a very competitive tourney that could have easily been won by any of the top five teams.

“I would say it is eye-opening and motivating for us as a team to be in this position — and actually have the opportunity to win — on this course, with this kind of competition,” said Carroll. “These are teams we have seen and will continue to see, and now we just have to put the work in to get better, and gain more experience in big-meet situations.”

Whitney Dostal led Ottumwa with a low score of 86, sixth-best at the meet. Dowling’s Sarah Splittgerber was meet medalist with a 75 while Ankeny Christian’s Victoria Grasso claimed runner-up with a 78.

Sarah Stabile shot 90 for Ottumwa, while Kelsey Nickerson was at 96 and Darby Patritto shot 97. Ottumwa’s Abbie Budan carded 100 while Maddie McKelvey carded 105.

“Once again, we had five people at 100 or lower, so we’re moving in the right direction.” said Carroll.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to travel to Edmundson Golf Course on Saturday, looking to repeat as champs at the Oskaloosa Invitational.

“We won at Oskaloosa last year, so our goal is to contend again and hopefully repeat,” said Carroll. “We need to take advantage of our opportunities.”

The Bulldogs will then head to the Ames Invitational on Monday, where Ottumwa will see a lot of the same teams they saw Thursday.

Ankeny Hawkette Invitational

At Otter Creek Golf Course

Thursday

Team scoring — 1. West Des Moines Valley 364, 2. Dowling Catholic 366, 3. Ottumwa 369, 4. Ankeny 374, 5. Ames 376, 6. Southeast Polk 388, 7. Urbandale 403, 8. Marshalltown 407, 9. Ankeny Christian 415, 10. Fort Dodge 440, 11. Des Moines East 484.

Medalist — Sarah Splittgerber, Dowling, 75.

Runner-up — Victoria Grasso, Ankeny Christian, 78.

Ottumwa individuals — Whitney Dostal 86, Sarah Stabile 90, Kelsey Nickerson 96, Darby Patritto 97, Abbie Budan 100, Maddie McKelvey 105.