Oklahoma Christian second, OCU fourth at Las Colinas

LAS COLINAS, Texas (March 5, 2013) - Top-10 individual finishes by Sam Johnston and Logan Herbst led Oklahoma Christian to a second-place finish in The Contender golf tournament, which ended Tuesday at TPC Four Seasons. Oklahoma City University placed fourth.

Playing on the course that annually hosts the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson Championship, Johnston shot an 8-over-par 79 to close in sixth place at 225, eight shots behind the medalist, Nathan Anderson of Texas Wesleyan.

Herbst tied for seventh in the 75-player event at 226 after shooting a final-round 81.

The Eagles posted a 316 team score to hold on to second place, but finished 24 shots behind NAIA power Texas Wesleyan in the team race.

Also playing for OC in the tournament were Vilhelm Bogstrand, who shot a final-round 78 and tied for 14th at 229; Taylor Williams, who also shot a 78 to finish tied for 17th at 230; and Trey Payne, who fired an 83 and finished 50th at 242.

Playing as an individual, OC’s Jared Consoli - who took medalist honors in the tournament in 2012 - finished 11th at 227 after posting an 82 on Tuesday.

Oklahoma City University’s Michael Palmer carded a round-three 74  and finished fourth individually while the Stars tied for fourth. The Stars carded 305-303-314-922 and tied with Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) for fourth place. OCU finished 36 shots behind top-ranked Texas Wesleyan.

Palmer, a senior from Johannesburg, South Africa, carded 77-72-74-223 to grab a share of fourth and finish six shots behind tournament champion Nathan Anderson of Texas Wesleyan. Palmer finished the tournament first in par-4 scoring and rolled in seven birdies and an eagle.

Fellow senior Sondre Ronold, of Stavanger, Norway, shot 72-77-80-229 and tied for 14th place. Ronold carded nine birdies and finished third in par-5 scoring. Anthony Marchesani, a freshman from Rosebud, Victoria, Australia, shot 79-76-80-229, junior James Marchesani, of Rosebud, Victoria, Australia, finished with 79-78-80-237 and Brodie Hinkle, a sophomore from Tulsa, Okla., shot 77-81-80-238.

The Stars will return to action in the Texas Intercollegiate March 11-12 at Hawks Creek Golf Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Oklahoma Christian women take top three spots

EDMOND, Okla. (March 5, 2013) - Without a full squad entered, Oklahoma Christian didn’t post its first-ever team win in the Diffee Ford-Lincoln Invitational, but the Lady Eagles accomplished an impressive first for the program nonetheless on Tuesday.

Senior Morgan Dockery recorded her first college tournament win, leading a 1-2-3 individual finish by OC in the event, which ended Tuesday at Kickingbird Golf Course.

On a chilly day with winds blowing 30-35 mph and scores soaring as a result, Dockery shot an 84 to finish at 156, two shots better than teammate Catherine Odgers.

Odgers posted the best second-round score in the 38-woman field, an 8-over-par 78 on the 5,821-yard course, to finish at 158. Three shots behind her was another OC golfer, Sarah Harper, who closed with an 85 for a two-day score of 161.

“I’m real proud of all three of them,” OC coach Greg Lynn said. “We entered at the last moment and it’s good to see all three of them play well this week.

“Morgan has been putting in a lot of hard work and it’s nice to see it pay off like it did this week. Hopefully she’s on the right track and will finish out the year strong.”

Dockery became only the second woman in the program’s two-year history to win medalist honors in an event, joining Anna Arrese Cortadellas, who has won four individual titles.

Odgers and Harper also posted the best finishes ever in their respective OC careers.

The top non-OC players in the field were Raquel Trevino of Rogers State and Jordan Liebold of tournament host Southern Nazarene, who finished at 162. Rogers State won the team title.