Iola golfers Titus Jones and Xander Sellman competed at the Wichita Junior Tour this summer.
Both golfers have been competing for Iola High School for two seasons and will return this fall as juniors. The duo’s performances at the Wichita Public Golf Course qualified them for competition at the City Junior Championships at the Sim Park Golf Course last weekend.
“This summer they got what they wanted out of it,” said IHS golf coach Jeremy Sellman. “They all had some success, had fun, made some new friends, got to play some courses and they’re always in really good shape. One of the Wichita courses is short, one has got a lot of trees, one is miles long and another is miles long with a rough that’s really thick. You get all of it.”
While Xander Sellman finished second in the championship heap by a lone stroke, Jones finished in fourth place after rebounding from some early challenges. Jones struggled early on at the 18-hole course to square up his tee, hitting the ball off the fairway a few times.
“Coach helped me with my swing two weeks before regionals in the spring,” said Jones of his swing. “I was just in a bad mindset for two holes and I was swinging too hard. So I just dialed it down a little bit and started hitting the ball straighter.”
Xander Sellman relied on his experience to prevail. Even through the torturous heat. He hammered a pair of pars on the final two holes for the impressive second- place finish.
“They take the top four kids for the championship. It’s really about keeping that competitive level of golf up. You’ve got to stay tuned in and that’s really what this was about,” explained Coach Sellman of what the summer tours mean.
Coach Sellman said the boys’ performances in Wichita have improved their mental attitudes and the ability to see a course more clearly.
“The fast greens and tight lines improved their ball striking by leaps and bounds.”
A past showing at a summer camp at the University of Kansas in Lawrence also helped prepare the Iola golfers for the Wichita Junior Tour. The KU camp included high school golfers from all over the state who play golf year round into the summer months. Sellman said the extra work is for the kids who really look at taking their game to the next level.
After the KU camp, Coach Sellman said the boys “came back completely different kids. They learned a ton by working with Division I coaches. That Division I experience is pretty hard to get living in a small rural community, but it’s not impossible.”
The Iola High School golf team holds its home meets at the Allen County Country Club which is where both Jones and Xander Sellman have been practicing all summer in preparation for their tours. Coach Sellman hopes to have even more kids come out for the high school team this upcoming school year.
“Middle school, my first year I had nine. It was perfect. Second year, COVID year, I had 19 and then in the third year I had 21 and I’m like ‘this is crazy.’
“Then at the high school level, I don’t know where they go. I’m hoping to retain a bunch for next year. I’m looking to have 11 to 15 come out,” Coach Sellman said.
Jeremy Sellman said he is prepared to take his athletes as far as they want to go.
“Competitive golf helps them think their way around the course. It prepares them for the next level. If they have their sights on the college level, I tell them I can get them there.”
