Iola Middle School golf wrapped up the 2019 season with four tournaments starting at Jayhawk-Linn followed by Anderson County, Chanute and Parsons.
The Ponies took fifth at Jayhawk-Linn on April 16, Chanute on April 24 and Parsons on April 25 but they really stepped it up at Anderson County on April 17 when they took third.
Chris Holloway placed in the top 10 at three of the four meets including a second-place finish at Anderson County.
Xander Sellman took fourth at Anderson County and placed just outside the top 10 at Jayhawk-Linn and Parsons.
Brandon McKarnin took 11th at Chanute and Carson Keller put up his best score, a 52, at Parsons to end the year to place 12th.
Kendall Glaze and Brigham Folk didnt get as close to the top 10 but their contributions, especially at Anderson County, have allowed the Ponies to stay in the hunt of a top-five finish.
Head coach Jeremy Sellman said Travis Wanker and Jack White have played solid golf down the stretch and were also big in helping the Ponies secure those three top-five finishes.
Iola returns a lot from a very competitive, seventh-grade laden team. Holloway, Glaze, Keller, Folk and Sellman all return as eighth-graders next year while Wanker, White and McKarnin will move on to high school.
All of those guys made great contributions to the team throughout the year, Sellman said. Were going to be a formidable force though, next season, with so many kids back. They got good experience playing at tournaments that had 10 teams and 60 or more players competing so hopefully theyll be able to take it up a notch next year.
