WONDER BOYS FINISH FIFTH AT 2008 GSC MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

        HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech’s Men’s Golf completed play here Tuesday at the 2008 Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield/Gulf South Conference Golf Championships with a fifth place finish out of 13 teams at Hot Springs Country Club.

Tech, who was in fourth place after Monday’s first day after shooting a 596, shot a 294 in Tuesday’s final round to finish the two-day event with a score of 890 for 54 holes. The Wonder Boys, who finished third last season, were three shots behind fourth place West Georgia (887) and five shots in front of sixth place, Henderson State (895).

West Florida, the No. 1 team in both the NCAA Division II South Region poll and the latest GCAA Top 25 Poll, took home the team title for the third consecutive season as the Argonauts fired an eight-under par 856 for 54 holes. In Tuesday’s final round, UWF fired a six-under par 282. North Alabama carded a 54 hole total of 870 to finish second, while Valdosta State shot an 877 to finish in third place. The Blazers, who entered Tuesday’s final round in fifth place after shooting a 597 on Monday, shot a third-round best 280.

Leading the way for Tech was junior Jarred Carlyle (Nashville, Ark.), who shot a 54 hole total of 217 to finish in a tie for sixth place. With his sixth place finish, Carlyle earns All-Tournament honors for the second consecutive season. Carlyle shot a final round 69, which was his second consecutive round of shooting three-under par.

West Florida’s Tobias Rosendahl took home individual medalist honors after carding a 54 hole total of 212. Rosendahl closed the tournament with a five-under par 67 after shooting a one-over par 145 on Monday. Valdosta State’s Brent Witcher, North Alabama’s Daniel Creel and West Florida’s Kyle Scott, the first-day leader, all shot a 213 to finish tied for second. Joining those four and Carlyle on the All-Tournament team were West Florida’s Matthew Galloway (5th-216), Harding’s Dusty Gourley (T-6th-217), North Alabama’s Wes Smith (T-6th-217), Henderson State’s Jack Bartlett (T-6th-217) and West Georgia’s Zach Lassetter (T-6th-217).

In addition to Carlyle, junior B.J. Hawkins (Winnsboro, Texas) shot a three-round total of 218 to finish tied for 11th place. Hawkins, who shot a 147 on Monday, close the tournament by firing a one-under par 71 on Tuesday. Sophomore Jonathon Spikes (Danville, Ark.) carded a 227 (79, 71, 77) to finish tied the 25th place, while sophomore Ryan Hitt (Allen, Texas) fired a 230 (76, 77, 77) for 54 holes to finish tied for 31st place. The fifth finisher for the Wonder Boys was junior Scott Genoway (Calgary, Alberta), who shot a 54 hole total of 236 (77, 80, 79) to finish in 48th place.   

ARKANSAS TECH                   303   293   294 – 890 

T-6    Jarred Carlyle                  79      69      69 – 217    

T-11  B.J. Hawkins                    71      76      71 – 218    

T-25  Jonathon Spikes              79      71      77 – 227

T-31  Ryan Hitt                         76      77      77 – 230

48      Scott Genoway               77      80      79 – 236

Team Scores

1.       West Florida                    285    289    282 – 856   -8

2.       North Alabama                288    295    287 – 870   +6

3.       Valdosta State                300    297    280 – 877   +13

4.       West Georgia                  309    285    293 – 887   +23

5.      Arkansas Tech              303   293   294 – 890  +26

6.       Henderson State             295    303    297 – 895   +31

7.       Delta State                     308    309    293 – 910   +46

8.       Montevallo                      304    308    311 – 923   +59

9.       Ouachita Baptist             315    303    307 – 925   +61

10.     Harding                           312    309    306 – 927   +63

11.     Christian Brothers           309    304    317 – 930   +66

12.     Southern Arkansas          328    310    315 – 953   +89

13.     Arkansas-Monticello        346    347    335 – 1028 +164

Top 12 Finishers (Par-Yardage: 72-6,690)

1.        Tobias Rosendahl, West Florida           73      72      67 – 212

T-2.   Brent Witcher, Valdosta State             75      71      67 – 213    

          Daniel Creel, North Alabama               69      77      67 – 213    

          Kyle Scott, West Florida                     69      77      67 – 213

5.       Matthew Galloway, West Florida         71      73      72 – 216

T-6.   Jarred Carlyle, Tech                         79     69     69 – 217

          Dusty Gourley, Harding                      73      71      73 – 217

          Wes Smith, North Alabama                 71      73      73 – 217

          Jack Bartlett, Henderson State           69      75      73 – 217

          Zach Lassetter, West Georgia             78      69      70 – 217

T-11. Cole Willis, Valdosta State                   70      80      68 – 218

          B.J. Hawkins, Tech                          71     76     71 – 218

          Federico Damus, West Florida            72      73      73 – 218

2008 GSC Men's Golf Championships - Final results

          -- Tech Athletics --