Ludlam is Medalist as Warriors Roll to Another Win

Newton, KS -- The Indian Hills golf team apparently feels very comfortable at the Sand Creek Station Course and that could bode well for the Warriors' chances of defending their Division I national championship.

Less than a week after Indian Hills won the Iowa-Kansas Clash at Sand Creek, the Warriors dominated the field in romping to an easy win in the NJCAA District III Championship at the course.  And since the National Tournament will be played there as well, the Warriors should have no shortage of confidence when the national tourney commences on May 15.

Indian Hills had posted a 10-stroke victory over Dodge City CC in the Iowa-Kansas Clash.  They more than quadrupled that margin in the district meet, beating Dodge City by 41 shots.

A superb opening 18 holes got the Warriors off to a fast start when they shot a 279, 15 shots better than the rest of the field.  IHCC followed that up with rounds of 286 and 298 as they continued to pull away for their fourth straight team title of the spring.

Ben Ludlam led a trio of Indian Hills golfers at the top of the leaderboard, winning medalist honors with a 212.  Ludlam had three consecutive sup-par rounds, shooting an opening-round 70 and following it up with back-to-back 71s. 

IHCC's William White and Monty Lack followed Ludlam and both sizzled over the first 18 holes -- White firing a 68 and Lack a 69. 

Mitch Tucker joined his teammates in the top six with a 6th place finish.  Kevin Workman, playing as an individual, actually had the fourth-best Indian Hills score, a 222 good for 4th place.

Indian Hills will take the next two weeks to prepare for its shot at winning a second straight national title.

Coach Mike Hagen said after the District tourney win, "We're going to enjoy this for now.  It'll probably really hit us more next week when we get back into our regular routine to prepare for defending our national championship.  I was really excited to see us perform like this in the postseason."

NJCAA District III Championships

Team Scores (top 6): Indian Hills 279-286-298=863; Dodge City CC 294-298-312=904; Hutchinson CC 299-299-308=906; Iowa Western CC 294-309-316=919; Johnson County CC 313-309-318=940; Garden City CC 313-316-325=954

Indian Hills Scores: 1. Ben Ludlam 70-71-71=212; 2. William White 68-74-72; 3. Monty Lack 69-69-77=215; 4. Kevin Workman 72-75-75=222; 6. Mitch Tucker 73-72-78=223; 12. Jon Paul Blampied 72-74-81=227; 15. Kieran Goodall 71-80-78=229