Murrin takes Iola by five strokes

IOLA -- Fort Scott High's Cole Murrin won the second of the four Southeast Kansas League designated golf tournaments here Tuesday by five strokes, leading the Tigers to a second-place team finish one stroke behind league leader Chanute.

The Tigers shot 316 as a team, taking second over Parsons by 22 strokes. Chanute, led by four individual medalists who shot 80 or better, had a score of 315.

The Tigers improved upon their performance in the season-opening SEK tourney at Independence by 25 strokes, moving from third place in team standings into second.

"Our 316 is competitive with any of the Class 4A teams in the state," Fort Scott head coach Ken Klassen said. "But Chanute has a really solid squad this year, and we'll have to do better if we want to overtake them in competition this year. It's always good to have a rival to lift our intensity, but it's not much fun coming up second fiddle. We'll just have to try to improve."

Murrin, who shot 85 and finished 10th at Independence, shot a 34 on the front nine and a 37 on the back to finish at 71. Chanute's Jeremy Gant, still the league's overall leader, was second at 38-38--76.

"Cole, bouncing back from an ugly finish at Independence, turned in a stellar performance in winning this tournament," Klassen said. "This is the impressive Cole I expect to see all year: Rock steady in temperament and play, but internally fiercely competitive. I'm glad to say his score could have even been better. Cole's extremely analytical in evaluating his game, is working hard to improve, and this success bodes well for the remainder of the season."

Independence's Peyton Bolts was third at 40-38--78, one stroke ahead of Fort Scott's Paul Norris at 42-37--79 and Chanute's Cameron Coronado, 38-41--79. Norris won the scorecard playoff and was awarded fourth, which was where he finished at Independence.

"He started with a bogey and double bogey in his first three holes, didn't get rattled, settled into his game and improved all throughout the remainder of his round, playing his last nine at even par," Klassen said. "Like everyone who plays, Paul grows frustrated with his play from time to time, but he really enjoys playing and this joy, I think, contributes to his success. I don't want to take anyone's success for granted, but from here on out I expect Paul to shoot in the 70's--a high, but attainable goal for this young man."

Chris Brown also medaled, finishing 10th and matching his Indy total of 82 with nines of 40 and 42. He beat out Parsons' Garryl Darkis (44-38) on the scorecard playoff.

"(That's) not a bad score at all, but this senior wants to go out at the top of his game and at the top of the SEK," Klassen says. "I think the cool weather and wind were factors that presented difficulties for Chris, and a few strokes tossed away in his short game created a great deal of frustration. I still think and he knows he's as good as any SEK golfer. I won't be at all surprised to see him compete at Crestwood next week for the tournament title."

Dylan Renfro shot 45-39--84 to round out the Tigers' top four scores for the team total. Tanner Beckham finished at 45-48--93 and Tyler Cook played his first varsity tournament of the season, scoring a 49-49--98.

Renfro improved his Independence score by 13 strokes while Beckham made up eight strokes.

With half of the league tournaments played, Chanute is on top with a two-tourney total of 639 followed by the Tigers at 657. Pittsburg is third at 668 with Parsons fourth at 697.

Gant leads SEK individuals with a 153 followed by teammate Mitchell Hale at 155. Norris, having been the Tigers' most consistent golfer, is third at 156 with Murrin moving into a tie for that position as a result of his performance at Iola.

Brown is in eighth place with his score of 164. Renfro is tied for 24th and Beckham is tied for 37th.

The Tigers will play in the Pittsburg Invitational Tuesday at Crestwood Country Club in Chicopee. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. This will not be one of the league's designated tournaments. The next SEK tournament is scheduled for April 10 at Columbus. Fort Scott will host the final league tourney on May 8.

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Team Scores

1. Chanute (CH) 315 (Gant 76, Coronado 79, Hale 80, Miner 80), 2. Fort Scott (FS) 316 (Murrin 71, Norris 79, Brown 82, Renfro 84), 3. Parsons (PA) 338 (Walters 80, Darkis 82, Heenan 88, Thomas 88),

4. Pittsburg (PT) 340 (Williams 81, J.Nichols 85, T.Nichols 86, Casey 88), 5. Iola 341 (C.Ellis 83, A.Ellis 86, Starks 86, Walden 86), 6. Coffeyville 351 (Vacca 83, Moore 86, Standbury 88, Hurlbutt 94),

7. Independence (IN) 363 (Bolts 78, Webster 91, Goad 95, Berbick 99), 8. Labette County 384 (Fentress 86, Carter 99, Boss 99, Sparks 100), 9. Columbus 388 (Chancellor 86, Schoech 91, Beech 99, Norris 112).

Medalists

1. Cole Murrin, FS, 34-37--71; 2. Jeremy Gant, CH, 38-38--76; 3. Peyton Bolts, IN, 40-38--78; 4. Paul Norris, FS, 42-37--79; 5. Cameron Coronado, CH, 38-41--79;

6. Mitchell Hale, CH, 41-39--80; 7. Kel Walters, PA, 40-40--80; 8. Skyler Miner, CH, 41-39--80; 9. Landon Williams, 40-41--81; 10. Chris Brown, FS, 40-42--82.

LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team (Unofficial)

Individuals (Unofficial)