COLUMBUS — Iola High’s Mustangs haven’t been near the top let alone have an individual sitting atop the Southeast Kansas League golf standings for a long time, if ever.
After a one-two finish at Thursday’s SEK designated tournament at Columbus, the Mustangs have two players in the top five of the league standings. They have three in the top 17 and five in the top 25 golfers.
Oh, by the way, the Mustangs sit just five strokes out of the team lead also. The Mustangs won Thursday’s Columbus High Invitational with a combined score of 328. Independence, which leads the league, was second at 331.
Freshmen Shane Walden and Kaden Macha led the Mustangs. Walden, Macha and Coffeyville’s Conner Murrell all carded 76s for the 18-hole tournament.
With a scorecard playoff, Walden was awarded the tournament championship with Macha in second place. Murrell placed third.
Macha’s second-place finish vaulted him to a seven-stroke lead atop the SEK individual standings. He has a 229 total through three of the four SEK designated tournaments. Brett Yeubanks of Coffeyville is second at 236.
Walden’s win put him in fourth place on the league standings. Walden shot rounds of 39 and 37 at Columbus to win. Macha recorded the lowest round of nine with a 35 and had a 41.
At Columbus, senior Kris Collins finished in a tie for 16th with an 86 (46-40). Freshman Drake Dieker shot a 90 (43-47) tying for 23rd while senior Zach Crawford carded a 91 (46-45) tied for 26th. Freshman Isaiah Grover tied for 34th with a 94 (52-42).
Dieker sits at 17 on the SEK list after three tournaments while Crawford and Collins are at 23 and 24.
“We’ve won the last two SEK tournaments. The guys continue to improve their game on the course,” said Rick Horton, Mustang golf head coach. “We had trouble the first tournament of season at Independence but after that the kids have played well.”
Independence has a team total of 1,000 and Iola is second at 1,005. Coffeyville is third a 1,013. The final SEK golf tournament is at Fort Scott on May 8.
Iola goes to Coffeyville Tuesday then to Anderson County next Saturday.
