Murrin tops field at Parsons

PARSONS, Kan. -- Cole Murrin won the individual title at the Parsons Invitational Thursday but the Fort Scott High School team as a whole finished only third behind Coffeyville and Independence.

The Tigers shot 330 as a team while Coffeyville finished on top at 327 and Independence followed at 328. Pittsburg was fourth at 337, showing how competitive it was among the teams that brought their top players.

Chanute was in this tournament but chose to enter mostly JV players and finished sixth.

Wednesday's tournament at Coffeyville was postponed due to the storms. It will be made up next Wednesday as it is the last of the four Southeast Kansas League designated tournament. Chanute has just about wrapped up the team title while Fort Scott looks strong to finish second. Murrin and Chanute's Jeremy Gant are within one stroke of each other for the individual lead.

Regionals come first, however, as Fort Scott will host one of the four that will be held state-wide Monday at the Fort Scott Country Club. Play is expected to begin shortly after 8 a.m.

Murrin shot 37 on the front nine and 39 on the back for a total of 76, beating out Independence's Garrett Webster -- the No. 3 golfer in the SEK -- by one stroke. Webster shot 40-37--77.

"Cole had a rough start, but followed through to have a very good round," Fort Scott head coach Ken Klassen said. "The rest of the team did a little better than last Monday (at Chanute)."

Paul Norris lost out on a spot in the top 10 on the scorecard tie-breaker. Indy's Tanner Goad (42-41) won the tie-breaker and the 10th-place medal while Norris (39-44) was dropped to 11th.

Evan Heiser finished tied for 13th with his score of 47-38--85. Dylan Renfro tied for 15th with four others as she shot 42-44--86. Nolan Stark came in at 49-40--89 and Tanner Beckham scored 47-46--93.

"Evan Heiser continues to score better," Klassen said. "I'm really impressed with his progress. He's really contributing to our team scores right now, and I hope that carries through next week. The other guys had stretches of good play, but lapses that hurt their rounds. I'm looking forward to their team performance at the regional next Monday."