As it turns out, the new ‘do was quite fitting.

Gold hair to cap a golden season.

“I didn’t even think about that,” Olson, a sophomore, said following Webster City’s 11-3 victory over Iowa Falls-Alden at Lynx Field Monday night. “I’ve just always wanted to do it and so I did.”

Olson updated his all-state resume with his 10th pitching victory in 11 decisions, and WCHS (19-9, 12-2 NCC) pulled away with a six-run sixth inning to clinch its second outright North Central Conference championship in the past three seasons.

Webster City head coach Adison Kehoe (right) is doused with a bucket of water, the customary “Gatorade Bath,” by Beau Klaver (32) and Ty McKinney after the Lynx beat Iowa Falls-Alden, 11-3, on Monday to wrap up their second NCC title in the last three years. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

The Lynx finished one game in front of Humboldt (20-11, 11-3 NCC), which beat Algona, 7-5, on Monday. The league rivals, who split their two regular season meetings, will square off again on Friday in a Class 3A district semifinal in Slater at 5 p.m.

WCHS head coach Adison Kehoe is now batting .667 inside the league. He directed the Lynx to the top spot during his rookie season in 2017 and a runner-up finish in 2018.

“Everything goes to the boys because we put them through the ring of fire starting in January,” Kehoe said. “They did a great job all season.”

IF-A (3-18, 1-13 NCC), losers of eight straight games, didn’t roll over and play dead though. In fact, the Cadets caused some nail-biting in the WCHS dugout following a two-run sixth inning that trimmed the Lynx lead to 5-3.

But like all good teams do when cornered, WCHS responded.

Lynx infielders Beau Klaver, Ty McKinney, Tyler Olson and Zach Dyvig celebrate the team’s 11-3 win over Iowa Falls-Alden on Monday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

With just three hits through five frames, the Lynx rattled off four in the sixth inning alone. Twelve batters stepped to the plate with Caleb Olson and Beau Klaver providing the key hits — two-RBI singles. Olson blistered a McKade Eisentrager offering into center field to increase the WCHS lead to 9-3, and Klaver turned on a pitch and roasted it into left field to bring two more around for the eight-run cushion.

“(The Cadets) record wasn’t the best and we came in here thinking we could go through the motions and get the win, but that wasn’t the case,” Caleb Olson said. “We woke up there in the sixth inning.

“It wasn’t our best game, but it was a win.”

Klaver, one of seven underclassmen in the lineup for WCHS, was the only player for either team to generate multiple hits. He also singled in the second inning and eventually scored on Devon Stoakes’ two-run base hit that squirted into right field.

Ty McKinney belted an RBI single in the third to give the Lynx a 3-1 lead.

WCHS eighth grader Connor Hanson (left) scores on a wild pitch as Iowa Falls-Alden pitcher McKade Eisentrager (13) covers the plate during the sixth inning at Lynx Field Monday night. The Lynx scored six runs in the frame to pull away from the Cadets for an NCC title-clinching 11-3 victory. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WCHS didn’t necessarily tear the cover off the ball, but patience was a virtue. The Cadets walked 10 batters, six issued by starter Luke Kloetzer, who took the loss after working four innings. Two of the free passes came in the Lynx two-run fourth, a frame in which it expanded the cushion to 5-1 without a hit. Connor Hanson and Zach Dyvig both scored on wild pitches, and they combined to touch the dish four times in all.

Tyler Olson, meanwhile, owned the IF-A bats. The Cadets plated an unearned run in the second inning, but otherwise the right-hander was in command. Olson allowed just two hits and fanned 10 in five innings. He’s now 10-1 with a 0.54 ERA in his first year as a full-time starter.

“Yeah, I’m surprised,” Olson, who also had a base hit in the win, admitted. “But I wouldn’t be 10-1 without my defense. It’s always there to help me.”

Dylan Steen and Caleb Olson, two of the three seniors in the lineup, took care of the sixth and seventh innings.

Steen, pitching for the first time in a week, gave up a bloop single and infield single, which allowed IF-A to score twice in the sixth and pull within 5-3 at the time.

WCHS second baseman Zach Dyvig (left) whips the ball to Beau Klaver at first for the final out of the game on Monday. The Lynx win over Iowa Falls-Alden clinched the outright NCC title. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Steen and Caleb Olson both struck out two.

Dyvig added a sixth-inning single to center in the win.

Note: The Lynx scheduled regular-season finale at Spirit Lake, which was on the docket for Tuesday night, was cancelled.

Webster City 11, IF-Alden 3

Monday at Webster City

IF-Alden 010 002 0 — 3 4 3

Web City 021 206 x — 11 7 1

Luke Kloetzer, McKade Eisentrager (5), Henry Cruz (6) and Sam Off. Tyler Olson, Dylan Steen (6), Caleb Olson (7) and Devon Stoakes. W — T. Olson. L — Kloetzer. Multiple hits — WC: Beau Klaver. RBI — IF-A: Cruz, Landon Lettow; WC: Klaver (2), C. Olson (2), Stoakes (2), Ty McKinney (2).