JOPLIN, Mo. – The Parkland College golf team closed out their season with a fourth place finish at the NJCAA Division II National Championship at the par-72 Twin Hill Country Club in Joplin, Missouri on Friday afternoon. The Cobras (+56, 1208) finished their third round of the tournament this morning after play was suspended yesterday, before combining for a team score of 16-over, 304 in the final round. Individually, freshman Dain Richie (+2, 74) led the way with Parkland's lowest round of the day. Richie finished in a tie for 7th place, shooting a four-round score of 7-over, 295.
 
"We picked a bad week to really struggle," head coach Corbin Sebens said after his team's fourth straight top-five finish. "This team has dealt with adversity all season long. We fought all week and battled and ended up falling short of our team goal. It's so hard to win at this game and to finish fourth when we didn't have our best stuff shows a lot about the guys we have."
 
When asked about Dain Richie, Sebens said, "I couldn't be more proud of the way Dain played all week. He carried us and finished strong to earn All-American honors. He can use this and continue to build for next season."
 
The Cobras began the day with 6-9 holes remaining in the third round after Thursday's delay. The team closed out the 17-over round of 305 in the morning before turning around and starting the fourth round shortly after. Sophomore Alex White shot a 12-over, 84 in his final round with Parkland College, paring the final three holes to help put the Cobras in 3rd place. Sophomore Joel Petersson (+3, 75) set the pace on the front nine, firing a 2-over 38. Petersson only got better as the day went on, shooting 1-over on the back to close out his round of 75. Dain Richie (+2, 74) struggled early, but the New Berlin, Illinois native locked in on the back nine, firing a 1-under 35 to finish with the lowest Parkland round of the day and secure a top-ten finish. Freshman Roo Fenwick (+4, 76) birdied the first two holes on the back nine as he climbed the leaderboard, finishing in a tie for 31st. Freshman Kegan Niles (+9, 81) also managed to birdie two holes on the back nine, and sophomore Corey Neville (+7, 79) closed out his career as a Parkland Cobra with an even-par 36 on the back nine.
 
"I can't say enough about sophomores Corey, Joel and Alex. What they have done for this program over the last two years is immeasurable," Sebens added after the round. "This group won 12 of 17 tournaments, two conference titles, a National Championship and now a 4th place finish. They will go down as the three most decorated golfers ever in our program's history."
 
Team Leaderboard
Individual Leaderboard
 
Team Scores (Top 10):
1          South Mountain CC                +31      297+294+299+293=1183
T2        Tyler Junior College               +50      309+296+304+293=1202
T2        Mississippi Gulf Coast CC     +50      312+292+303+295=1202
4          Parkland College                    +56      302+297+305+304=1208
5          Kirkwood CC                          +59      299+294+314+304=1211
6          Glendale CC                           +60      298+299+305+310=1212
T7        Meridian CC                           +66      295+301+315+307=1218
T7        Heartland CC                          +66      315+296+306+301=1218
9          Northeast CC                          +76      308+307+314+299=1228
10        Walters State CC                    +81      325+301+305+302=1233
 
Parkland Individual Scores:
T7        Dain Richie                  +7        72+75+74+74=295
28        Corey Neville               +15      76+72+76+79=303
T31      Roo Fenwick                +17      76+77+76+76=305
T36      Joel Petersson             +18      78+74+79+75=306
 
NA      Alex White                   +16      - +76+84+ -  =160
NA      Kegan Niles                +18      81+ - + - + 81=162