Hornets' Whitson fires opening 72 at Class 1 tournament

Advance sophomore Brian Whitson carded an even-par 72 and was tied with Jack Parker of Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School for first place in individual play after the first round of the Class 1 state tournament at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, Mo.

"The course is tough," Whitson said. "It was pretty windy out there. ... The sand is not a good place to be, really. I just had to go out and execute shots as well as I could."

Whitson, who finished 19th in the state as a freshman last year, is looking for a better showing this go-around.

"Just don't worry about the other golfers," he said when asked what his strategy going into today's second and final round. "Just go out there and play my game. I know if I play good, I'm going to come home with the title."

St. Vincent senior Levi Gotto also finished in the top 10 with a 7-over 79.

Advance's Spence Lorch finished with a 103.

Team Scores -- 1. Father Tolton 337; 2. Barat Academy 341; 3. La Plata 343; 4. Thayer 353; 5. Lincoln 369; 6. Green Ridge 372; 7. Mid-Buchanan 393; 8. Gallatin 394; 9. Albany 395

Round 1 Top 10

1. (tie) Jack Parker (Father Tolton), Brian Whitson (Advance) 72

3. Peyton Needy (Green Ridge) 76

4. (tie) Ben Bolden (La Plata), Connor McCarty (Father Tolton) 78

6. Levi Gotto (St. Vincent) 79

7. Trevor Cronin (Barat Academy) 80

8. Oskar Lindblad (Braymer) 81

9. (tie) Grant Gregory (La Plata), Cody Quint (Putnam County) 82

Local individuals

Advance -- Brian Whitson 72, Spence Lorch 103

St. Vincent -- Levi Gotto 79

Class 3

Defending Class 3 state champion Jack Litzelfelner shot a 7-over-par 78 to finish 11th in the first round of the Class 3 tournament at Fremont Hills Country Club in Fremont, Missouri.

As a team, Notre Dame was in fifth place, one shot behind West Plains. The Bulldogs' team score also included Jonathan Bell (80), Brady Dixon (83) and Trent Schumer (87).

Davis Palen of Logan-Rogersville led with a 2-under 69.

Sikeston's Gabe Wheeler was tied with Warrenton's Ethan Luecke for third place at 3-over 74.

Team Scores -- 1. Pembroke Hill 317; 2. Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS) 322; 3. Logan-Rogersville 323; 4. West Plains 327; 5. Notre Dame 328; 6. Nevada 334; 7. Hannibal 335; 8. Priory (St. Louis) 336

Round 1 Top 10

1. Davis Palen (Logan-Rogersville) 69

2. Brett Windsor (Boonville) 72

3. (tie) Ethan Luecke (Warrenton), Gabe Wheeler (Sikeston) 74

5. Andrew Lilly (MICDS) 75

6. (tie) Ben Charles (West Plains), Josh Fronabarger (Aurora), Davis Soderberg (St. Charles West) 76

9. (tie) Isaac Burroughs (West Plains), Zachary Cobb (Pembroke Hill) 77

Notre Dame -- Jack Litzelfelner 78, Jonathan Bell 80, Brady Dixon 83, Trent Schumer 87, Nick Cantoni 96

Class 2

Kelly's Derrick Garner carded a 20-over-par 92 to finish 65th in the first round of the Class 2 tournament at Silo Ridge Golf & Country Club in Bolivar, Mo.

Team Scores -- 1. Barstow 327; 2. Whitfield 331; 3. Blair Oaks 333; 4. Lamar 339; 5. Eugene 341; 6. Springfield Catholic 345; 7. Living Word (O'Fallon) Christian 347; 8. Penney 361

Round 1 Top 10

1. Kory Franks (Blair Oaks) 69

2. Ian Barnes (Licking) 74

3. Sean Mulkey (Ash Grove) 75

4. (tie) Tanner Elder (Blair Oaks), Walker Kesterson (Southern Boone) 76

6. Landon Maberry (Lamar) 77

7. Gavin Arnold (Macon) 78

8. (tie) Daymond Dollens (Centralia), Taylor Haltom (Ava), Tripper Jensen (Mt. Vernon), Chase Kinder (Whitfield) 79

-- From staff reports