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Bulldog sophomore two strokes off lead at Blue River Invite
CRETE, Neb. – Day one of the Blue River Invite teed off on Friday from College Heights Country Club in Crete, Neb., as sophomore Shawn Rodehorst once again led the way for the Bulldogs. Rodehorst shot a one-under-par 71, two strokes off the leader. As a team, second-place Concordia (324) sits 11 strokes off of first-place Doane (313) going into the final round on Saturday.
“Shawn was outstanding once again,” head coach Brett Muller said. “He shot a two-under 34 on the front nine. He birdied 5, 6, 7 and 8 and then had one bogey in the back nine. It was another very solid performance for him.”
Rodehorst, a native of Kearney, Neb., has knocked one stroke off of his previous score in each of his last two outings. He shot a 73 at the Hastings Invite (March 29), a 72 at GPAC Qualifier No. 3 (Monday) and then a career low 71 on Friday.
Junior Sam DeFreece again came in next after Rodehorst as the Overland Park, Kan., native recorded an 82. He was followed closely by freshman Sam Simonson, who carded an 83. Sophomore Sam Mayhall (88) and freshman Brock Colclasure (90) rounded out Concordia’s “A” team.
“We should have shot a better team score,” Muller said. “Crete is one of the easier courses we play at all season so our expectations were a little bit higher. Again, we’re looking for more consistency from our two through five spots.”
The Bulldogs also brought a “B” team into competition at the Blue River Invite. Freshman Garrett Suchanek turned in the best day of Concordia’s second grouping as he shot a 91. Andy Nevius (93), Cody Lehmann (94), Paul Rempfer (99) and Nick Milberger (103) made up the rest of the “B” squad.
Four different schools were represented at the Blue River Invite on Friday. Concordia, Doane and Hastings each entered two teams into the field, while Union College (Neb.) sent a single team to the event. A total of 36 individual golfers competed on Friday.
Doane’s Ryan Harris shot a three-under-par 69 to top Friday’s leaderboard. He’ll have to play well to hold off Rodehorst on the Bulldogs’ home turf on Saturday.
“I really like Shawn’s chances,” Muller said. “He could easily shoot a number in the 60s if he plays like he did today.”
The Blue River Invite will resume Saturday at Seward Country Club for the final round of the event. The shotgun start begins at 10 a.m. All seven teams will play the nine-hole (par 35) course twice to complete the Blue River Invite.
“Our guys really look forward to it with it being the only home event in Seward,” Muller said. “We normally get a few students to support us, which is nice to see.”