3 seniors return to lead golf team

March 23, 2008 12:04 am

— By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
There are three seniors among a veteran cast of golfers at Joplin High School.
“We could be decent,” Joplin second-year coach Jack Pace said Saturday. “We have some good veterans. I really like the competitiveness of our lettermen. They’re scoring well at the present time.”
The seniors are Drew Johnson, Gordon Mitchell and Brad Thompson.
“Our No. 1 is up for grabs,” Pace said. “Johnson, right now, has a slight advantage over Thompson and will be No. 1 for our opener on Monday. Thompson was the leader last season.”
Joplin will entertain Carthage and Webb City at 3:30 p.m. on Monday at Twin Hills Golf & Country Club.
Juniors on the squad of 11 are Jeff Black and Stephen Matlock.
There are four sophomores in Matt Ditto (a letterman), Cooper Craig (a transfer from Monett), Austin Jones and Brendan Weeks.
Completing the roster are freshmen Chris Moss and Stewart Pence.
Pace said son-in-law Kris Garrett, who’s on Doug Buckmaster’s football staff, is volunteering as an assistant in golf.
“We’ve been fortunate in that we’ve missed just two practices because of the weather,” Pace said. “Hopefully, we put those to good use in the (golfing) classroom.”
Pace said Glendale is the team to beat in the Ozark Conference Tournament scheduled April 14 in Springfield at Rivercut Golf Course.
The Falcons also won the MSHSAA Class 4 team title at Fremont Hills by 11 strokes over Poplar Bluff. District competition is scheduled for Fremont Hills, Pace said.
“Goals naturally include qualifying some individuals for state if we can’t make it as a team (Joplin missed that accomplishment in 2007),” Pace said. “I don’t know how the team competition stacks up. But we should know after April 10.”
The Joplin Invitational will be held at Twin Hills on April 3, Pace said. The Eagles also compete in tourneys at Miami (March 31) and Ozark (April 10) before the conference.
The top five team scores in the Ozark Conference Tournament in 2007 at Rivercut were 307 for Glendale, 317 for Rolla, 319 for Kickapoo, 326 for West Plains and 343 for Joplin. Thompson shot 82 to pace the Eagles.
Thompson and Ryan Combs, the Eagles’ only senior, shot 83s in district competition last spring. Glendale beat Ozark 301-311 for team honors and Joplin was sixth with 344.