Lubbock, Texas -- Sophomore Julien Sale won individual medalist honors leading Indian Hills to a second-place finish in the NJCAA Division I National Preview at The Rawls Course, where the national tourney will be contested next May.
Sale opened the event with a sizzling six-under par 66. tied for the best round of the 54-hole tourney, on his way to a 207 total, two shots better than McLennan's Matt Lorentzen. He followed up the 66 with rounds of three-under 69 and even-par 72. It was Sale's second individual title of the fall season -- he also won the Klocke Family Classic in September -- and it came on the heels of his second-place showing at the previous meet, the Bent Tree Intercollegiate.
Indian Hills could make up only two shots of a five-stroke deficit they faced going into Tuesday's final 18 holes and wound up three shots behind team champ McLennan with a score of 851, 13-under par. The Warriors posted scores of 284, 282 and 285 over the 6,541 yard Rawls Course.
IHCC freshman Joe Kim had a solid tournament, using rounds of 69, 70 and 72 to finish in a three-way tie for 5th place at 211. Soph Ricky Sanders tied for 13th place with a 216 that included a one-under 71 to close out the tourney.
The other three Indian Hills golfers all had at least one round at below- or even-par. George Clarke, a freshman, fired a 71 and a 70 over the last two rounds after opening with a 78. He tied for 23rd. Another frosh, Joe Hodgson, had a 72 in his middle round and tied for 30th. The 4th freshman in IHCC's top six, Maxine Leclerc, produced a a terrific final-round 69 and tied with Hodgson at 222.
The Warriors played four tournaments this fall and won three of them. It's the second year in a row they came in 2nd at the Preview after tying for the championship in 2015. IHCC has finished in the top-4 each of the past 8 years of the event.
Midland College wound up four shots behind Indian Hills in 3rd place and Western Texas was another eight strokes in back of Midland.
NJCAA Division I National Preview
Team scores (top 10):
- McLennan 282-279-287=848; 2. Indian Hills 284-282-285=851; 3. Midland 287-275-293=855; 4. Western Texas 294-286-283=863; 5. Iowa Western 289-288-287=864; 6. Dodge City 291-290-297=878; 7. Odessa 300-296-285=881; 8. Hutchinson 293-301-289=883; 9. New Mexico JC 298-294-300=892; 10. Wayland Baptist 295-293-307=895
Indian Hills scores:
1. Julien Sale 66-69-72=207; T5. Joe Kim 69-70-72=211; T13. Ricky Sanders 73-72-71=216; T23. George Clarke 78-71-70=219; T30. Joe Hodgson 76-72-74=222; T30. Maxine Leclerc 79-74-69=222