by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information
Playing in the toughest NJCAA Division I golf conference has some benefits – for Kansas City Kansas Community College, a berth in the 2021 national tournament.
Six of the 20 teams in the national will come out of the region – Jayhawk members Hutchinson, Garden City, Dodge City and KCKCC and two Iowa powers, Indian Hills and Iowa Western.
The national will be played on The Rawls, the home course of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Practice rounds are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday with the 72-hole stroke play tourney to be held Monday through Thursday, May 9-12.
The Blue Devil squad will be made entirely by Kansas players, sophomores Blake Mullen of Olathe West, Mark Towey of Bishop Carroll and Dylan Freund of Cheney and two freshmen, Colby Unruh of Overland Park and Carson Towey, younger brother of Mark.
In his 21 years of coaching, Gary Shrader has taken 10 teams to the national tournament. And it’s a good bet the Blue Devils will be the most followed team in the tourney.
“The last time we were at the national tournament in Foley, Ala., the keynote speaker asked if any of the schools had all their players living in their state,” Shrader said. “We were the only ones.”
In all likelihood the Blue Devils are doing it again with their all-Kansas squad because of the heavy influx of international players on the other national qualifiers.
“We’ve had a great following all season with parents and grandparents at our meets, something other teams don’t have,” Shrader said. “It’s kind of refreshing.”
The Blue Devils earned a berth in the national by beating out Barton County for sixth place in the district tournament played at Crestview in Wichita. Hutchinson nipped Indian Hills by one stroke for the district championship followed by Iowa Western, Garden City, Dodge City and KCKCC, which edged Barton County by five shots.
Mullen, who won two tournaments early in the season, led KCKCC, finishing 18th (225) followed by Carson Towey, 31st (232); Unruh, 34th (235); Mark Towey, 38th (238); and Freund, 40th (240).
“We just got a little better every tournament with some of our most competitive rounds in the district,” Shrader said. “We beat some good teams and were probably about a half a stroke a round from having a real good season. We’re real happy to have a chance to play in the national, especially with Kansas kids reaching that level. Although we’ve had some ups and downs, it’s been a good year. The kids have been very good ambassadors for the college.”