Highlanders claim National Championship Preview title
The McLennan Highlanders finished atop the leaderboard at the NJCAA Division I National Championship Preview, edging out Indian Hills by three strokes. The Highlanders shot 282-279-287 – 848 during the two-day event at the par-72, 6,541-yard The Rawls Course in Lubbock. Indian Hills was second with 284-282-286 – 851, followed by Midland in third with 287-275-293 – 855.
Freshman Matt Lorentzen and sophomore Alex Isakson shot 71-68-70 – 209 and 68-69-72 – 209, respectively, to pace the Highlanders and finish tied for second place.
Other McLennan scores: sophomore Judd Tilson, tied for fifth, 73-69-69 – 211; sophomore Micah Goulas, tied for 30th, 70-75-77 – 222; sophomore Brendan Johnson, tied for 47th, 77-73-76 – 226; medalist freshman Parker Scaling, tied for 47th, 73-81-72 – 226.
Other team scores: Western Texas, fourth, 294-286-283 – 863; Iowa Western, fifth, 289-288-287 – 864; Dodge City, sixth, 291-290-297 – 878; Odessa, seventh, 300-296-285 – 881; Hutchinson, eighth, 293-301-289 – 883; New Mexico, ninth, 298-294-300 – 892; Wayland Baptist, 10th, 295-293-307 – 895; Lubbock Christian, 11th, 302-292-305 – 899; Ranger, 12th, 310-297-302 – 909; Eastern Arizona, 13th, 303-304-306 – 913; New Mexico Military, 14th, 310-313-300 – 923; and Garden City, 15th, 311-316-305 – 932.
Highlander sophomores Judd Tilson and Alex Isakson were given the privilege of carrying the special McLennan golf bag honoring Sgt. 1st Class Albert A. Mersch as part of the Folds of Honor Military Tribute Program (FHMTP). Folds of Honor (FOH) is a preferred charitable partner of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and honors fallen or severely wounded American soldiers. MCC is one of approximately 10 schools from across the United States that have joined in the program and the only two-year college to participate. As part of the FHMTP, participating teams raise funds for the FOH throughout the season. The special MCC golf bag will be raffled away at the end of the 2018 spring season. Raffle tickets will be sold for $1 each at different MCC events throughout the 2017-2018 school year.