INDEPENDENCE — The Iola High golf team began its 2023 season at Independence Thursday.
The Mustangs took home sixth place out of 11 schools.
Brennan Coffield, a freshman, placed ninth overall, shooting an 84. Xander Sellman, a junior, took 22nd with a score of 90, and Chris Holloway, also a junior, took 27th with a 93.
“Brennen played really good but left several strokes out there,” said Jeremy Sellman, IHS golf coach. “He had a couple mental miscues that cost him some ground on the leaderboard. He drove it well all day but his approaches to the green were just a bit off. Overall, I’m super excited to see him continue to grow this season.
“Xander battled hard all day and was struggling to find the fairway off the tee,” said Coach Sellman, his father. “He had made an equipment change earlier in the week with his driver and I’m confident he will be going back to his original setup. His scrambling and putting kept his score down and I was happy to see his resiliency and his ability to forge on.”
And while Holloway was disappointed in his score, “what I saw was a player working hard to keep a mistake from costing him more strokes,” Sellman said. “Chris is a strong competitor and will rebound quickly and be ready for next week.”
Baron Folk, who is part of the junior varsity squad, earned 46th, shooting a 105.
“Baron was the surprise performer of our team today,” said Sellman. “Having been put in with the varsity team with his limited experience, I couldn’t be happier with his results. He stayed focused and played his game and I think his outcome surprised even himself. Our goal was for him to compete and gain experience at the varsity level.”
Iola is at Pittsburg on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
