Rockhurst High School wins its 14th state golf championship

The number 305 will forever be attached to the Rockhurst High School golf team. Heck, it might even be printed on a few trophies.

Earlier this month, the Hawklets compiled team scores of 305 to capture district and sectional championships.

On Tuesday, they used No. 305 to win No. 14 — as in the 14th golf state championship in program history.

Rockhurst edged first-round leader Springfield Glendale by 3 strokes to win the Missouri Class 4 tournament Tuesday at Twin Hills Country Club in Joplin.

“I think I need to buy a Pick 3,” Rockhurst coach Mark Nusbaum joked.

Rockhurst shot 305 on Tuesday after shooting the same score in Monday’s opening round. Thus, it finished the season with four rounds by the identical number, each of them leading to postseason championships.

The individual scores were quite good, too. Junior Jake Propeck carded a 1-over 73 and finished second in the tournament. He tied for the best second-round score in the field.

Chaminade golfer Joseph Terschluse won the tournament with a two-day total of 146.

“The disappointment of us finishing second (as a team) last year pushed us to win the tournament,” Propeck said. “We didn’t start off well, but we knew we just needed to keep grinding. At some point, it was going to turn around, and it did.”

As a five-man team — Propeck, Rob Enright, Carson St. Clair, Mike Bessenbacher and Ethan Packel — the Hawklets shot 201 on the front-nine and 187 on the back-nine. The top four scores count toward the team total. St. Clair led that charge — he was 6-over par on the front and 2-under par on the back, finishing in 15th place.

“That’s probably the best thing about these guys. We’ve been doing that all year — maybe not starting out that well on the first three or four holes and then just playing really good golf afterwards,” Nusbaum said. “And it was that way again today.”

Enright tied for fifth, along with Liberty senior Sam Parrott, who closed his career with back-to-back top-five finishes.

Liberty North’s Tanner Collins, Lee’s Summit West’s James O’Connor and Park Hill’s Kris Snodgrass tied for 15th, good for all-state honors, after shaving 2 strokes off his opening-round score. Lee’s Summit’s Jackson McGuire was 27th.

▪ In Missouri Class 3, Pembroke Hill placed fifth at Sedalia Country Club. St. Pius X golfer Cole Elling shot a final-round 74, the day’s second-best score, to finish ninth in the two-day tournament. Pembroke Hill’s August Hoffman finished 20th.

▪ Summit Christian Academy golfer Alex Brown finished in a tie for 16th place at the Missouri Class 2 tournament at Fremont Hills (Mo.) Country Club.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Rockhurst High School wins its 14th state golf championship."