EMPORIA — Iola High sophomore Brennen Coffield overcame illness and some crazy Kansas wind to bring home a 14th-place medal at the Class 3A State Golf Tournament.
Coffield shot a second-round 83 at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course. He added that to his first-round 76 to finish at 159 for the two-day tournament.
“Brennen wasn’t very happy about his score, and he’s not going to make excuses, but he was not at 100 percent,” Mustang head coach Jeremy Sellman said. “He wasn’t feeling good when we got out there, and Tuesday was probably the worst he’d felt all week. But he pushed through, competed and did his best.”
A passing cold front made for challenging conditions, Golfers teed off with a gusty south wind that eventually shifted to the west and finally from the north by the end of the day.
“And I don’t think it dipped under 30 all day,” Sellman said of the gusts.
“I’m proud of Brennen,” he said. “He’s done quite a bit and he’s only a sophomore.”
Coffield was the only Iola golfer to make the cut for the second day.
Iola’s Xander Sellman, who carded a first-round 82 on Monday, was one stroke beyond the cut line. A lip-out putt on the 18th hole was particularly costly, his father and coach noted.
“It wasn’t like Xander played a terrible round,” Coach Sellman said. “He had several three-puts, all of which were lip-outs.”
Baron Folk and Christopher Holloway both carded a first-round 96.
“It was a struggle for Chris,” Sellman said. “He’d make a mistake, and it would take him a hole or two to get out of the funk. It put him behind the 8-ball in terms of what he wanted to be doing out there.”
The course was “manageable,” Sellman said, “unless you made a mistake. Then it was unforgiving. If you stayed in the fairway, you were OK, but if you got off in the rough, the rains the night before really made it hard to get good contact with the ball.”
Folk, meanwhile, embraced his first ever trip to a state golf competition.
“Baron handled the pressure very well and shot pretty consistently with what he’s been doing all season,” Sellman said. “I know his heart rate was through the roof when he went up for his first tee shot, which is probably the hardest shot in golf. He struggled a bit in the front nine, but really started playing the way he needed to on the back nine.”
Ethan Harris also played well with his 106, another score consistent with what he’s shot all season.
Parker Andres shot a 122.
“I told Parker to just enjoy his time, and he did. He’s been hitting around the 110-120 range this season, and he’s got the experience at state.”
WHILE disappointed the other Mustangs did not score low enough to make it to the final round, Sellman expressed appreciation for what the squad accomplished this season, including winning the Pioneer League championship for the second year in a row, and winning their 3A regional for the first time in a decade.
“It’s going to be tough to replace Xander and Chris, but if guys like Ethan and Baron can continue to improve, we’re back to having a pretty solid team.”
WICHITA Collegiate freshman Lunden Esterlin cruised to the individual title, shooting a 1-under par 140, 10 strokes better than Santa Fe Trail’s Lane Workman. Of regional interest, Neodesha golfer Kyle Eggers tied for ninth at 156.
