MCC golf finishes strong with second-place finish
Published 10:46 pm Friday, May 25, 2018
- From left are, Coach Ronnie Key, Leigh Ann Key, Parker Brooks, Will Kidder, Rhett Walters, Jacob Berry, Isaiah Jackson, Mitchell Fifer, Dalton Baskin and Coach David Rosenbaum.
Heading into day four of the NJCAA Division II golf national championship, the Meridian Community College Eagles entered the shootout portion of the tournament jostling with three other teams for top honors.
MCC shot 4-under on Thursday, the final day of the championship tournament, but Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College rallied to close the tournament at 2-under to edge MCC, which finished 1-under.
“We’re really just now kind of reflecting on it a little bit, but just getting to compete at the highest level that we could compete at on a course that we’re comfortable on against our main rival — Gulf Coast,” MCC coach Ronnie Key said. “We were fighting it out, and they fought as hard as they could. Golf is golf, and it’s hard to tame sometimes. But we played really, really well, and it’s just an amazing experience to be able to compete for a national championship and be that close.”
Eagles’ freshman Will Kidder tied for sixth place in the tournament. Kidder garnered a first-team All-American designation and he was selected to the All-Tournament team after shooting 71, 71, 72 and 71 for 3-under. Isaiah Jackson, a sophomore, shot 83, 70, 69 and 68 to place 11th and earn a spot as a second-team All-American. Sophomore Jacob Berry tallied scores of 74, 73, 75 and 71, which landed him on the All-American list as a third-teamer. Freshman Mitchell Fifer shot a 78, 70, 76 and 74, and sophomore Rhett Walters earned scores of 71, 79, 73 and 76.
“Their competitiveness,” Key said of his team’s defining characteristic. “They are experienced golfers. They play in a lot of summer tournaments and things like that. They just wanted to win. This year, they won four times and got second five times, so we’ve been in the hunt all year. These guys just like to compete and are experienced enough to know how to handle different situations and courses, and just love the heat of the battle.”
Kidder and Fifer will return next season for MCC.
The Eagles’ championship appearance is their third consecutive. MCC finished in eighth place two years ago and sixth place last year. This week’s national championship runners-up finish is also the school’s third in its history.
