Sophomore Nathan Leary and his West Waterloo teammates are in the championship hunt at the boys' Class 4A state golf tournament.

On a windy day when low scores were rare, Leary fired a 73 to move into third place, and the Wahawks finished in a three-way tie for fourth after the opening 18 holes Friday at Hunter's Ridge Golf Course. The final 18 holes will be contested today.

"The course played very tough today," said West coach Larry Daniels. "The back nine was extremely tough.

"I think Nate played one of his best rounds. He usually rises to the occasion and plays his better rounds against the better competition. He is fired up for tomorrow."

So is the rest of the West team. Sam Christensen shot a 78 (17th), Jack Griffin a 79, Eric Anfinson an 83, Sam Voigt an 88 and Mike Mingus a 90 as the Wahawks shared fourth with Linn-Mar and Ottumwa.

Bettendorf leads the team standings after a 303. West Des Moines Valley is second at 305 and Ankeny is third at 311, just two shots ahead of West.

Leary's task will be to catch Marc Gladson of Linn-Mar and Ben Herrera of Valley. They shot opening-round 69s to share the individual lead. Gladson, the state runner-up the last two years, edged Leary by two strokes early this season in the Mississippi Valley Conference Supermeet.

Cedar Falls' Troy Hoffman shot a 76 to tie for eighth place.

Daniels said the Wahawks have their sights set on a top-three finish in the team competition.

"We're looking to have our best round of the season tomorrow and try to get into that top three," he said. "That would be our best finish in a few years."

TEAM STANDINGS - 1. Bettendorf 303; 2. West Des Moines Valley 305; 3. Ankeny 311; 4. (tie) Waterloo West, Linn-Mar, Ottumwa 313; 7. Muscatine 315; 8. Davenport West 318; 9. West Des Moines Dowling 323; 10. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 330; 11. Sioux City North 345; 12. Waukee 350.

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS - 1. (tie) Ben Herrera (W.D.M. Valley), Marc Gladson (Linn-Mar) 69; 3. Nathan Leary (Wat. West) 73; 4. (tie) Joe Bethel (Ankeny), Nate Smith (Ottumwa) 74; 6. (tie) Adam Seitz (Bettendorf), Dusty Drenth (Bettendorf) 75; 8. (tie) Troy Hoffman (Cedar Falls), Ryan Williams (Bettendorf), Adam White (Ottumwa), Jon Raftis (W.D.M. Dowling); 12. Thailer Carlson (W.D.M. Valley), Jeff Robertshaw (Linn-Mar), Ben Anderson (Muscatine), Kyle Hammann (Muscatine), Andy Brooks (Bettendorf) 77.