ARCHIVE

Warrior golfers bring home third-place trophy from state tourney

Sports reporter

For the third year in a row, the Marion High School golf team walked away from the 3A state golf tournament with some hardware.

But this time, it belonged to everyone.

After two individual plaques the past two years, MHS made sure everyone would have a share, as the Warriors shot 325 to finish third.

Wichita Collegiate defeated Phillipsburg on a fifth-player tie break to win the championship after tying with a total score of 319.

"I was real proud of them," MHS head coach Rex Ostmeyer said of his team. "They played pretty solid, consistent golf."

The total of 325 was not surprising for Ostmeyer, who felt his team was capable of shooting that every week.

And while that didn't always happen, it did Monday at the perfect time at Salina Municipal Golf Course.

"We played like we should have been playing all year," Ostmeyer said.

Junior Luke Gordon, who finished eighth last year after a playoff, took ninth with a round of 77 after losing a three-hole playoff.

He became the second MHS golfer behind 2007 graduate Travis Hett to win medals at two state track meets.

He has a shot next year to be the first to capture three.

"That's quite an accomplishment," Ostmeyer said of Gordon, who also qualified for the state track and field meet in the high jump.

Seniors Jake Bredemeier and Keith Jones capped off their careers in impressive fashion, tying for 15th and 17th respectively.

Bredemeier shot 79, and Jones 80.

It was the first time since shooting 77 at Hillsboro the first meet of the year that Bredemeier broke 80.

Jones also shot consistently in the low to mid-80s, but not Monday.

Ostmeyer said the two seniors made golf their number one sport during their high school careers.

"They were willing to put in the time," Ostmeyer said. "They were just committed to it, and they had pride in it."

At state, the top four individual scores of each team are calculated for the team score.

For Marion, the fourth spot was a coin flip.

Freshman Landon Leiker and exchange student Olle Gemfors both finished with rounds of 89.

According to the rules one of their names had to be on the scorecards as the fourth golfer, but in reality they both contributed.

Gemfors' parents were in Salina to watch their son.

"That was really exciting for him," Ostmeyer said. "He broke 90 for the first time all year."

Leiker got off to a slow start on the front nine, but Ostmeyer said he played a solid back nine to finish with the 89.

"To break 90 as a freshman at the state golf meet is something to be proud of," Ostmeyer said.

Although sophomore Lindsay Hett's round of 97 was not used in the team score, Ostmeyer was impressed.

She beat her state score from last year by two strokes, playing against 104 competitors this year — all boys.

After a struggle on the first four holes, Ostmeyer said Hett settled down.

"Her second nine she played really well," Ostmeyer said. "At state they back you up to the tips of the box, and that's tough."

Ostmeyer said as the day went on the team thought second place was possible, but toward the end they knew it would be third.

The Warriors finished nine strokes ahead of Kansas City Christian, and the team couldn't have been happier.

"It was a lot of fun," Ostmeyer said.

It was especially sweet for Ostmeyer who will be leaving MHS after this year. His family will be leaving for Derby.

"It felt good to leave with some hardware," he said.

He will teach at Haysville West Middle School, and as of now, he is not signed up to coach anywhere.

He said if the opportunity came along to coach basketball, he would entertain the idea.

"I'm going to focus on my family and see where it takes me," he said.

But for now, he and the team are still savoring the first MHS third-place team finish in a sport in a decade.

"It was enjoyable to watch them compete, and I had a lot of fun with them," Ostmeyer said. "I didn't have anything to do with it. They did all the work. They put in all the time."

Quantcast