By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Conference newcomer Lebanon turned in an impressive performance at Monday’s Central Ozark boys golf tournament in Carl Junction.
The Yellowjackets, winners of last spring’s final Ozark Conference tournament, finished with two golfers under par and three medalists as Lebanon held off Kickapoo by three strokes to earn the COC East title at Briarbrook golf course.
And Neosho, with four medalists of its own, won the COC West with a 13-stroke lead over Willard.
“Really good golf played by all five of our guys really,” Lebanon coach Trey Overstreet said.
The Yellowjackets were led by seniors Ethan Mustard and Titan Haney who both carded a 69 to finish 3-under. After a scorecard tiebreaker, Haney came away with 2nd place individually and Mustard placed 3rd. Jacob Clark added a 73 to place 6th individually, and Trustin Cox added an 85 for a final team score of 296.
“They both fell just one stroke short of the individual lead, and our sophomore Jake Clark who was the Ozark Conference champion last year shot 1-over today,” Overstreet said. “Our four and five, Trustin Cox and Levi Collins, were both right there with an 85 and 86. It just takes a great day to win a really big conference championship. We won the East and would have won the West. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is probably our first group to ever go back-to-back with conference titles. We won the final Ozark Conference title and got to start strong in the Central Ozark Conference.”
Overstreet said the Yellowjackets hadn’t managed to “put everything together all year” but he hopes his team is peaking at the right time even with a game as unpredictable as golf.
“Last year we had a conference title and we kind of struggled at districts,” he said. “I feel really good about where we’re at heading into districts this year. There’s a lot of confidence. This group is capable about every time but it’s not how golf works out all the time. Today we played good golf top to bottom and it did work out for us.”
“We play hole one at Payne Stewart a week from today and hope it’s a par or birdie and we go from there,” Overstreet said. “They’re going to be playing with some confidence going in but it’s a whole other day and a whole other golf course.”
Kickapoo, which scored 299, was led by Owen Jump’s 72 as he placed 4th individually. Nick Thompson followed at 74 to tie for 7th overall, Brady Powers shot 75 to tie for 9th, and Ethan Bartels carded a 78.
Nixa’s Noah Naugle posted the low score of the day with a 68 to take home gold. Teammate Noah Schiman added a 74 to tie for 7th.
Ozark also had two medalists in Riley Franklin (72––4th) and Evan Growcock (75––9th).
In the West division, Neosho benefitted from four medalists in posting a team score of 313 to beat Willard by 13 strokes.
Jaxon Ertel led the Wildcats with a 76, good for 2nd individually. Camp Ramsey shot 78 to tie for 4th, Colby Shadwick finished at 79 to tie for 7th, and Max Combs finished at 80 to tie for 9th.
“I’m very, very excited; we set this goal at the beginning of the year and the last two or three weeks we’ve had a little bit of a lull in our team scores but I think the extra prep we’ve put in the last few days playing practice rounds made them feel more familiar and comfortable here and it showed today,” said Neosho coach Logan Shaw.
“Jaxon Ertel did a great job, managed the course well and never put himself in a bad position,” Shaw said. “Even when he missed we would talk about where you need to miss and he’d miss in the right spot. Shadwick is another one, he’s not overly thrilled with his score today but he’s never happy which is a good thing. He’s kind of been our anchor all year long and he pulled through again. Our five man today, Max Combs, came in very clutch for us. We usually haven’t used his score this year even though he’s played good golf, we’ve just had four better scorers. Today he came through for us when we needed it for sure.”
Republic’s Cason Bekemeier took home individual honors in the West division with a low score of 75. Teammate Porter Bollinger’s 78 earned him a tie for 4th place.
Willard’s top three scorers all medaled; Logan MacLaughlin shot 78 to tie for 4th, Liam Bell’s 79 tied him for 7th and Mason Wilson shot 80 to tie for 9th.
Webb City’s Jackson Lucas carded a 77 to place 3rd, and Joplin’s Toby Ipsen also tied for 9th at 80.
COC East Standings
Lebanon 296
Kickapoo 299
Nixa 303
Ozark 309
Glendale 322
Waynesville 354
Central 384
COC East Individual
Naugle (Nixa) 68
Haney (Lebanon) 69
Mustard (Lebanon) 69
Franklin (Ozark) 72
Jump (Kickapoo) 72
Clark (Lebanon) 73
Thompson (Kickapoo) 74
Schiman (Nixa) 74
Growcock (Ozark) 75
Powers (Kickapoo) 75
COC West Standings
Neosho 313
Willard 326
Republic 329
Joplin 342
Webb City 343
Carthage 359
Parkview 459
COC West Individual
Bekemeier (Republic) 75
Ertel (Neosho) 76
Lucas (Webb City) 77
Ramsey (Neosho) 78
Bollinger (Republic) 78
MacLaughlin (Willard) 78
Shadwick (Neosho) 79
Bell (Willard) 79
Ipsen (Joplin) 80
Combs (Neosho) 80
Wilson (Willard) 80
