Warriors Take National Preview

Odessa, Texas -- The Indian Hills golf team validated their number-one national ranking by winning the NJCAA Division I National Championship Preview. The Warriors trailed Frank Phillips College by three shots after the opening round on Thursday, then posted the lowest scores over the next two rounds to win by four strokes over Odessa CC. The Warriors' total of 865 was only one shot over par for the 54-hole tourney.

The first two rounds were played on Thursday and the Warriors entered the second day of the event leading Odessa by a single stroke. And IHCC coach Mike Hagen admitted he was nervous going into Friday. "We had a long day in the heat on Thursday and there was the added pressure of being the leader, as well as taking on Odessa in their own back yard."

Hagen added, "But we went out (Friday) and played really solid. I proud of the way the guys played. We struggled a litte on the greens and, had we done better there, we would have run away with it."

Jon Paul Blampied led the charge for IHCC. The freshman was the first-round leader after opening with a five-under par 67. He was still tied for the lead after two rounds, shooting a two-under 70 in Thursday's second round. Blampied followed with a final-round 70, but was edged for the individual title by New Mexico JC's Jordan McColl, whose third-round 69 gave him a total of 206, one shot better than Blampied.

Another Indian Hills freshman, Steven Ihm, gave the Warriors two top-ten finishers. Ihm tied for 9th place with a 217 total after rounds of 74, 70 and 73, one-over par for the tourney.

Zach Steffen, playing as an individual, was next for Indian Hills with a 221 total, tied for 24th place. Steffen's best round was an even-par 72 on Friday.

Dan Dawson was 35th with a 223. Dawson followed up two rounds of 75 on Thursday with a final-round 73. Teammate Monty Lack was right behind Dawson with a 225 and Cameron Munro rounded out the IHCC results with a 228.

Lack recovered after shooting an 81 in the first round with a three-under par 69 in the second round. Munro fired a 72 in the middle round for his best 18-hole score.

Indian Hills is tied for No. 1 in the national poll with Meridian CC, which didn't take part in the tournament. New Mexico JC was third, four shots behind runner-up Odessa and eight back of the Warriors.

Thirteen schools participated in the Preview meet which Indian Hills won for the first time. The Warriors' final fall meet will be the Iowa/Kansas Clash in Kansas City Oct. 25-26.