Golf finishes sixth at Southwest Championship

              The Weatherford College men's golf team is halfway through its qualifying process for the national tournament after 54 holes at Squaw Creek Golf Course.

              WC finished sixth out of 10 teams in the Southwest JUCO Championship at the Willow Park course April 11-12. After three more rounds at an upcoming tournament in Brownwood, WC must finish among the top four teams over the combined total of six rounds to automatically qualify for the NJCAA National Tournament.

              "We moved forward over the 54 holes, not backward," said Jesse Speirs, WC golf coach. "Our third round was 13 strokes better than our second round, so we moved up a spot. I'm proud of how the guys finished. We have a shot at making nationals if we can continue improving in Brownwood."

              Gatlin Goad was WC's top individual, finishing in a tie for 14^th place out of 55 players. Goad was 7-over, shooting 74-74-72. WC's Logan Moore tied for 22^nd place (78-76-69) and Chris Choi tied for 24^th (75-75-74).

              Midland College, the No. 1 squad in the nation, won the Squaw Creek event by shooting 1-under par as a team, the only team to shoot under par. New Mexico Junior College's Matthis Lefevre won the individual title at 7-under.

              The Coyotes will travel to the NJCAA Region V/District 2 Championship in Brownwood April 25-26.