Host East Mississippi finishes as MACJC state golf runners-up this weekend at Lion Hills in Columbus

COLUMBUS – The host Lions of East Mississippi Community College maintained their second-place position throughout Sunday's final round to finish as team runners-up in the 2015 MACJC State Men's Golf Championship held this weekend at Lion Hills. 

Finishing 10 strokes behind tournament champion Mississippi Gulf Coast, EMCC has now claimed team runner-up golf honors at the MACJC State Championship four times in the last five years.  MGCCC has now won six state golf titles since 2008.

The Bulldogs of Mississippi Gulf Coast, also reigning seven-time NJCAA Region 23 team champions, increased their six-stroke, first-round lead to double digits with a final-round 289 to complete the two-day event with a 6-under par 570 team score.  The host EMCC Lions carded a 293 Sunday to go along with Saturday's 287 to finish the tournament with a 580 composite team total and 11 strokes ahead of third-place Meridian Community College (298-293—591).     

Also qualifying for next week's (April 26-27) NJCAA Region 23 Men's Golf Championship at Laurel Country Club was fourth-place Copiah-Lincoln (295-297—592) as well as Jones County, who earned a spot in next week's regional tournament as the host school for the upcoming two-day event.

Rounding out the team finishers at this weekend's state tournament at Lions Hills were East Central (293-302—595) and Hinds (304-294—598) in fifth and sixth place, respectively, followed by Northwest Mississippi (310-294—604), Itawamba (298-315—613), Northeast Mississippi (310-303—613) and Jones County (343-324—667).

Individually, Gulf Coast's Grant Motter fired a 7-under par 65 Sunday to earn a five-shot victory and claim medalist honors over a trio of runner-up finishers.  With his fourth individual title this spring, Motter also received the MACJC's Hubert Tucker Award for having the state's best composite stroke average for the spring season.

EMCC sophomore Hunter Harmon carded an even-par 72 Sunday to go along with his opening-round, 1-under par 71 to collect state runner-up honors along with Gulf Coast's Phillip Hickam (70-73—143) and Andrew Joiner of East Central (70-73—143).  The trio comprised of EMCC's Steven Eilders (72-72—144), Jacob Ross of Copiah-Lincoln (71-73—144) and MGCCC's Conner Entriken (68-76—144) finished tied for fifth with even-par total scores for the tournament.

Additionally for East Mississippi, Harmon, a product of Calhoun Academy, and Eilders, from Ridgeland, were accorded second-team all-state laurels based on their season scoring averages.  Joining the EMCC tandem on the MACJC's second team was the Meridian duo of Clayton Gray and Luther Thompson in addition to Co-Lin's Ryan Desormeaux and George Kawell from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Also based on their season-long play during the spring golf slate, the MACJC's first-team all-state squad was comprised of the MGCCC threesome of Motter, Hickam and Entriken along with Ross of Co-Lin, Meridian's Connor Cavin and Alex Tull of Northeast Mississippi.        

In addition for first-year head coach Benji Williams' EMCC Lions this weekend, sophomores Chase Chitwood (71-75—146) and Trent Humber (73-75—148), of Caledonia, tied for 11^th and 14^th place, respectively.  Freshman Daniel Schroder rounded out East Mississippi's scorecard at Lion Hills tied for 24^th place (77-74—151).