Iola High School junior Brennen Coffield will compete for a state title for a third time after qualifying at Monday’s regional tournament in Garnett.
Coffield carded a 78 for third place at the Garnett Country Club, which was 15 strokes behind regional champion Lucas Prado, a Heritage Christian Academy senior, and three strokes behind Anderson County senior Eli Martin.
Coffield will compete in the 3A state tournament Tuesday, May 27, at the Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City.
“Who would have thought Lucas Prado would shoot a seven under?” Iola coach Jeremy Sellman said. “He was one under on the front, then went six under on the back.
“His putter was hot. That’s the reason he’s the No. 1 golfer in the 3A.”
Coffield opened the tournament with a 36 on the front nine holes, then dropped back three strokes for 39 on the back nine, carding eight over par for the par 70 course. Monday’s score was seven strokes higher than Coffield’s performance just five days ago at the same course during the Bulldog Bash.
“His scoring average puts him in the top eight of the state. I have him at five or six, and he thought he was four or five. It was a wild round to watch (Monday). Brennen struggled a little bit with some feel. He was hitting quality shots, but they were either short or long and that translates to higher scores.”
As a team, the Mustangs finished fifth out of eight teams with a 366, which was 23 strokes from regional champion Heritage Christian Academy.
Due to KSHSAA state requirements accepting only players from the top two teams and the top five individual finishers, Iola’s junior Baron Folk was seven strokes from making the cut to play in the state tournament. Folk opened the tournament by shooting a 42 on the front nine, then a 48 to card a 90 on the day.
“He missed state by one position — a couple of strokes. Team-wise, the boys all played really well,” Sellman said. “They shot their best scores of the year up there.”
Senior Ethan Harris wrapped up his IHS athletic career with a top 25 finish. He shot a 47 on the front nine, then a 51 on the back nine to match his Bulldog Bash score by carding a 98.
“That was his farewell tournament. It has been a pleasure coaching him the last four years,” Sellman said. “He’s been a good kid that works hard on everything. He’s one of those kids you can look at, talk to and he would tell you honestly what was going on and if everyone was down he would try and bring them up.”
Freshman Isaiah Geisler wrapped up his first year of competitive high school golf by carding a 100. He shot a 49 on the front nine and a 51 on the back. Geisler was six strokes off his Bulldog Bash mark. Sophomore Ean De La Torre carded a 112 for 36th place after opening the tournament with a 57 on the front nine, then shaving off two strokes on the back nine while shooting a 55. Sophomore Evan LaCrone wrapped up the year carding a 133 after shooting 60 on the front nine, then 73 on the back nine.
“I was pretty impressed with [Geisler’s] work ethic and the improvement he made,” Sellman said. “With every tournament he got better and better. He’s made the commitment to me that he will spend time this summer working on his game and trying to improve.
“Season-wise and regional-wise I am very proud of those kids. They worked really hard. They just came up a little short.”
