GARNETT — As the scores rolled in at the end of a long, grueling day on the golf course, Iola High head coach Jeremy Sellman couldn’t help but get more excited.
On the line was a Pioneer League championship.
As was expected, Iola’s “Big 3” — sophomore Brennen Coffield and seniors Christopher Holloway and Xander Sellman — were at or near the top of the leaderboard for most of the day.
But in team golf, it’s usually the No. 4 golfer — in this case Ethan Harris — who determines how the team will finish.
Harris’s score, a career-best 85, warranted a bit of a “whoop” from his head coach, when it was revealed.
“I tried to keep it under my breath,” Coach Sellman said afterward. “I tried to keep it professional.”
As it stood, Iola’s team score of 310 was more than enough for a second straight league title — a whopping 23 strokes better than runner-up Santa Fe Trail.
Even better, Iola’s score was good enough to best all of the non-league schools invited to Tuesday’s Anderson County Invitational as well.
Iola was followed in the overall standings by Spring Hill’s 318.
Individually, Coffield carded a 73, one shot behind meet champion — and defending Class 3A state champion Lane Workman of Santa Fe Trail. Xander Sellman finished third at 74; Holloway fifth at 78.
“It was an awesome day,” Coach Sellman said. “The kids deserve all the accolades.”
The Mustangs won’t have much time to rest on their laurels — or their golf scores.
Iola is at Prairie View Thursday to wrap up the regular season before venturing to Osawatomie Monday morning for the Class 3A Regional Tournament. If Iola can get a top-two team score at regionals, it means the entire Mustang squad will advance to the Class 3A State Tournament May 20-21 in Emporia.
“I said it when I took over the program three years ago, that by the time Xander and Chris were seniors, that we would have a legit chance at making it to state as a team and competing for a state title,” Coach Sellman said. “It feels like the chips are falling into place.”
TUESDAY’S competition doubled as the Pioneer League Tournament after the original tournament planned for last week in Burlington was canceled due to weather.
