Warriors Claim National Title!

Odessa, Texas -- Indian Hills won the first National Junior College Athletic Association Division I golf championship in school history on Friday as the Warriors took the DI national title by four strokes over runnerup Central Alabama.

Indian Hills was ahead by 12 strokes going into the final round and increased the lead to as many as 15 shots early on the last day of the tourney. But the Warriors struggled a little as the winds increased and changed direction during the last 10 holes. Their seemingly comfortable lead had shrunk to four strokes going into the final hole, then three of the four IHCC golfers parred the hole to allow Indian Hills to validate their preseason No. 1 ranking and take the crown.

Two of the pars on the 18th hole were by Dan Dawson and Steven Ihm, who tied for 4th place overall.

Dawson was consistent during the tournament. His final-round two-over par 74 was his highest score, and it was four strokes better than any of his teammates over the last 18 holes.. The Southampton, England native opened with an even-par 72, followed with a two-under par 70 on Wednesday, and had matching 74s to close out the tournament.

After an even-par 72 to begin the tourney,Ihm, from Peosta, Iowa, had two straight under-par rounds -- a 71 on Wednesday and a three-under par 69 the next day -- before posting a 78 in the final round.

He still wound up with a 290 total, the same as Dawson, two over for the tourney and seven strokes behind the individual medalist, Brevard CC's William Anderson. Two players shot 287 and Dawson and Ihm were two of four players who finished at 290.

Jon Paul Blampied, an Indian Hills freshman from South Africa, tied for 17th place with a 294 total. He was three shots over par going into the last round, but finished with a 79 and a 294 total. That was one stroke better than classmate Zach Steffen, from Des Moines, who was one stroke under-par for the tourney after 54 holes before closing with an 80.

The Warriors were in 3rd place after the first day. They opened with a team score of 287, one-under par and one shot behind co-leaders Central Alabama and McLennan, the two-time defending national champ.

However, Indian Hills grabbed the lead early in the second round and never relinquished it.

The Warriors had a solid round of 289 on Wednesday, day two, and were at even-par 576 at the midpoint of the tourney, three shots better than McLennan.

A six-under par 282 in the third round enabled Indian Hills to put some distance between themselves and the field. That's the day that Ihm and Steffen shot 69s and Blampied had a 70 as IHCCs lead grew to 12 strokes going into the final day of play.

Central Alabama was second after three rounds and never could catch the Warriors.

The national crown is the second in golf for IHCC. Indian Hills won the NJCAA Division II title in 2000 and now has another championship 11 years later.

The win for Indian Hills came on the same course in Odessa where they had won the DI National Championship Preview last October. And it capped a year in which they finished first in 11 of the 13 tournaments they entered, including a perfect five-for-five in the fall.

And with three of the top four scores at the national tourney coming from freshmen, the future looks very bright for IHCC golf.

Team Results (top ten)

1. Indian Hills 287-289-282-308=1166; 2. Central Alabama CC 286-304-288-292=1170; 3. Brevard CC 293-293-284-302=1172; 4. Midland CC 296-294-292-297=1179; T5. McLennan CC 286-293-295-308=1182; T5. Darton CC 301-294-296-291=1182; 7. Meridian CC 295-303-289-299=1186; 8. Western Texas CC 318-288-289-295=1190; 9. New Mexico JC 296-303-286-305=1192; T10. Cape Fear CC 303-289-295-310=1197; T10. Hutchinson CC 294-297-301-305=1197

Indian Hills Results

T4. Dan Dawson 72-70-74-74=290; T4. Steven Ihm 72-71-69-78=290; T17. Jon Paul Blampied 70-75-70-79=294; T20. Zach Steffen 73-73-69-80=295; T68. Matt Solis 77-79-74-77=307