Brad Carpenter and Colbey Schuster will represent Washington High School at the MSHSAA Class 4 state golf championships.
Playing at the Class 4 Sectional 3 Tournament Wednesday at Millwood Golf and Racquet Club in Ozark, the Blue Jays finished third out of four teams in the team standings.
The top two teams and the top 12 individual scores plus ties from non-qualifying teams advanced to the Class 4 state tournament May 14-15 at Silo Ridge Golf Club in Bolivar.
Rock Bridge won the sectional team title with a score of 313. Nixa also qualified for state as a team, placing second with 333.
Washington finished third with 339. Kickapoo was fourth with 345.
Carpenter, a sophomore, and Schuster, a junior, both carded rounds of six-over-par 76 to finish in a tie for third place in the individual standings.
“It was a great day for Blue Jay golf with two players advancing to state play,” said Washington Coach Tim Buschmann. “The course was a tight layout with a lot of OB (out-of-bounds). When errant off the tee, you were in real trouble. The rough was long, but exceptional for sectional play. The greens were fast, but not unreadable. The fairways were slightly rolling and in great shape. There was not much elevation in the overall course, but sloping on greens made approach shots tough to say the least.”
The Blue Jays had three other golfers who saw their seasons come to an end.
Mark Stahlhuth, the two-time defending GAC North player of the year, finished tied for 35th place with a round of 88.
The final qualifying score for players not from Rock Bridge or Nixa was 83, putting Stahlhuth five strokes from the cut.
“Mark is a two-time GAC North player of the year and a two-time state qualifier,” Buschmann said. “He had one bad hole, taking a 12 on a par-5. Two tee shots OB and another OB on the approach really sunk his chances.”
Evan Scheer fired a round of 99 to place 46th overall. Sebastian Hommes finished 51st with 119.
“Evan and Sebastian were disappointed in their performance,” Buschmann said.
Rock Bridge’s William Echelmeier and Lebanon’s Mitch Mather tied for the top score with two-over-par rounds of 72.
Carpenter and Schuster were next with their rounds of 76.
Other golfers advancing to state were Branson’s Nicklaus Carley (77), Nixa’s Parker Eckerson (77), Rock Bridge’s Matt Echelmeier (78), Smith-Cotton’s Nick Carroll (81), Hickman’s Matthew Garner (81), Branson’s Michael Gibson (81), Rock Bridge’s Jack Knoesel (81), Rolla’s Mark Martin (81), Carthage’s Garrett Roberts (81), West Plains’ Isaac Burroughs (82), Rock Bridge’s Jackson Dubinski (82), Camdenton’s Andrew William Shannon (82), Springfield Central’s Jordan Williams (82), Nixa’s Kenneth Ryan Eady (83), Rock Bridge’s Mark Austin Evans (84) and Nixa’s Nicholas Michael Jeter (86).
