FREDONIA -- Every member of Fort Scott High School's golf team will be going to next week's Class 4A State Tournament at Manhattan as a result of the Tigers' second-place team finish at the Fredonia Class 4A Regional Tournament here Monday.

The Tigers saw four individuals finish in the top 10 as they had a team score of 325. Chanute was the Regional champion with a score of 317. The top two teams and five other players with the best scores from non-qualifying teams qualified for State.

"I'm really proud of the effort of the kids," Fort Scott head coach Ken Klassen said. "Our goal was, at the beginning of the year, to medal at State. But our level of play, while enough to win a few tournaments and earn a team medal in every outing this year, has been short of the level it takes to medal at the State tournament, where competition is always fierce. Yesterday, even though we finished second to Chanute, I saw a caliber of play from our guys that (can earn) a medal at State. We'd have to sustain a high level throughout the tournament, but that's what we'll try to do."

This is the fifth consecutive season that the Tigers have sent every member of their team to State. This has happened eight times since 1998.

The top two individuals were from Chanute. Southeast Kansas League champion Jeremy Gant added another trophy to his case by posting the low score of 71. He shot 37 on the front nine and 34 on the back. Teammate Mitchell Hale was second with his 35-40--75 while Girard's J.D. Heatherly was third at 40-39--79.

Cole Murrin (43-37) and Chris Brown (40-40) had to go to a playoff after each shot 80. Murrin won the playoff and was awarded fourth place while Brown got fifth.

"Chris consistently chipped well all day and rang up a bunch of pars," Klassen said. "He was the anchor throughout the day that made me think we could qualify even though Cole struggled.

"Cole had a front nine that left him extremely frustrated. He is generally a fun-loving, easy-going kid. But I assure you there was no smile on his rather glum face. It didn't look good for him at that point. But Cole pulled his game together to tie for fourth place with Chris. The two had a four-hole playoff which was fun to watch."

Dylan Renfro shot 39-43--82 and earned sixth place. Paul Norris shot 40-43--83 to finish eighth and round out the team scoring.

"Paul and Dylan had great rounds going in the morning that turned into decent rounds in the 30 m.p.h. winds of the afternoon," Klassen said. "The wind blew in gusts that made shots unpredictable. Their scores provid(ed) us what we needed."

Tanner Beckham finished 24th with a 48-45--93. Andrew Defebaugh tied for 38th at 51-50--101.

"Tanner played well initially and then the wind carried off several of his shots," Klassen said. "He still finished in the top half of the field. I want him and Andrew to concentrate this week to improve their State scores by several strokes."

This will be Brown's fourth trip to State. He finished 11th there last season. Murrin and Renfro will each attend for the third time. Norris and Beckham will make their second appearances while Defebaugh will be making his first trip.

"Each player had his own story for the day," Klassen said. "Each had a round with some great shots as well as missed shots followed by great recoveries. Each retained the mental focus and balance to overcome problems faced during the round. We'll have to see if we can continue next Monday the effort we made in finishing our round at Fredonia. This is a great way to round out the year by going to the State Tournament."

Team scores

Bold indicates qualifying teams

1. Chanute (CH) 317 (Gant 71, Hale 75, Gard 85, Coronado 86), 2. Fort Scott (FS) 325 (Murrin 80, Brown 80, Renfro 82, Norris 83), 3. Girard (G) 343 (Heatherly 79, Scallions 82, Mein 88, Boultinghouse 94),

4. Parsons (PA) 361 (Walters 84, Heenan 85, Darkis 95, Hoisington 97), 5. Coffeyville 363 (Moore 87, Vacca 91, Yeubanks 91, Watts 94), 6. Iola 380 (C.Ellis 86, A.Ellis 89, Walden 100, Manbeck 105),

7. Independence (IN) 384 (Botts 84, Webster 91, Strycker 102, Goad 107), 8. Columbus 426 (Schoech 96, Kitch 104, Norris 112, Beech 114),

9. Fredonia 426 (Rimel 90, Fowler 100, Dark 112, Hedges 124), 10. Labette County 426 (Fentress 94, Carter 95, Arb 97, Larkin 140).

Medalists

Italics indicate qualifying individuals from non-qualifying teams

1. Jeremy Gant, CH, 37-34--71; 2. Mitchell Hale, CH, 35-40--75; 3. J.D. Heatherly, G, 40-39--79; 4. Cole Murrin, FS, 43-37--80; 5. Chris Brown, FS, 40-40--80;

6. Dylan Renfro, FS, 39-43--82; 7. Trey Scallions, G, 44-38-82; 8. Paul Norris, FS, 40-43--83; 9. Peyton Botts, IN, 42-42--84; 10. Kel Walters, PA, 41-43--84.

Other individual qualifiers: Bruce Heenan, PA, 41-44--85.