The Lions golf team stayed within the state for their last competition, returning home from Lafayette with a sixth place finish at the Louisiana Classics tournament. Leading the Lions with two-over par was sophomore James Anstiss, playing in only his second tournament as a Lion. The finish garnered the New Zealand native a spot tied for twelfth.

Southeastern was ranked 49th in the nation going into the tournament, which featured eight teams ranked within the top 100 of the nation. There was not a lack of talent to face in Lafayette, as the Lions were paired throughout the tournament with Illinois, the top ranked team in the nation. Head coach Tim Baldwin commented how being paired with Illinois was beneficial to the team.

“It was nice to be paired with those guys and see some quality,” said Baldwin. “We talked about how they were very efficient in how they went about their business and that emotionally they were very stable. They were great grinders, they had no quit in them.”

Senior Grady Brame was the next best for the Lions. The Hammond native carded a score of three-over par which landed him in a tie for 17th. The Louisiana Classics tournament was the second tournament in a row for the Lions in which Anstiss and Brame were the top two finishers for the team. 

Sophomore Paul Obermann just missed the top 20. The Germany native scored five-over par to finish tied for 25th. Junior Lawrence Allan shot six-over and junior Eamon Bradley finished 15-over to round out the Lions.

Freshman Wyatt Ott played in the tournament as an individual. The Ponchatula native received his first taste of collegiate golf and finished with a score of 16-over par. Baldwin noted Ott’s play grew better as the tournament continued.

“He was nervous and uptight, but he mellowed out and shot 74 in the second round so that was encouraging,” said Baldwin. “He was a little frustrated with his final round but he got a taste and that is what it’s all about.”

Next up for the golf team will be a trip to Laredo, Texas to participate in the Border Olympics. Baldwin hopes the team can start to build momentum towards the Southland Tournament in April. 

“We are trying to model our next 90 days of our season toward [Illinois] and have some good practice going into the Border Olympics,” said Baldwin. “The guys understand what’s coming up and the importance of it. We are going to try to look for some chemistry and fine tune some things.”

The Border Olympics is scheduled for March 13-14. For more info on Lions golf, visit lionsports.net.