Men’s golf takes second at HAAC tournament

Story by Chad Mullens, Writer

The men’s golf team took second at the Heart of America Athletic Conference championship tournament Tuesday.

The Wildcats had three golfers finish in the top 12 of the individual standings but fell to season-long foe Culver-Stockton College.

Junior Kelley Thompson led the team with a 54-hole score of 229, just one stroke back from first-place finisher Tyler Barr of C-SC.

The Wildcats finished round one of the tournament one stroke ahead of Culver-Stockton, but fell behind Avila University, the eventual sixth-place team. C-SC took the lead after round two with a tournament-best score of 296.

The Wildcats also had four athletes named to the HAAC All-Conference team, including Thompson, senior Alex Zuzelski, sophomore Grant Grego and senior Andy Kelley. The second-place finish for the Wildcats came 12 days after winning their home meet at Alvamar Country Club in Lawrence, finishing 62 strokes ahead of Haskell Indian Nations University and 64 strokes ahead of the closest HAAC opponent, Evangel University.

The women took second place out of four teams in the Baker Spring Invitational, finishing just behind Rockhurst University. Baker once again finished ahead of the other HAAC competitors, keeping the streak of beating every HAAC team head-to-head since spring of 2012.

Sophomore Lindsey Mateer was the individual medalist, finishing the 36 holes with a score of 173, seven strokes ahead of the nearest competitor. Freshman Kaci Dillingham finished in fifth place, and junior Morgan Miller finished in the top 15.

The women’s conference tournament will be held in Maryville, Mo., Monday and Tuesday. The Wildcats last played the course March 29 in the Graceland Invite, where the team finished ahead of all HAAC team