EMCC - Athletics: Sports, News, Players, and Coaches. Go Lions! - EMCC's Weston Wallace and Zack Bailey complete competition in NJCAA Golf Championship

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – East Mississippi Community College’s 2011 golf season came to a close Friday, as Lion linksters Weston Wallace and Zack Bailey completed competition in the NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship held at Goose Pond Colony.

With EMCC having two golfers competing in the national tournament during the same year for the first time in school history, Wallace finished the four-day event in a two-way tie for 75^th place while Bailey tied with seven other golfers in 93^rd place.

This year’s Hubert Tucker Award winner for having the best composite scoring average among MACJC golfers during the regular season, Wallace closed out competition at the 7,100-yard, par-72 layout with a four-day total of 310 following rounds of 78 and 77 on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The former Northwest Rankin High School standout previously bounced back from an opening-day 81 to fire a 2-over-par 74 during Wednesday’s second round.

Bailey, a product of Caledonia High School, rebounded from a first-round 84 to card consistent scores of 77, 77 and 79 Wednesday through Friday to settle with a four-day total of 317 for head coach Dale Peay’s EMCC Lions.

In the team competition, John A. Logan (Ill.) College turned the tables on top-ranked South Mountain (Ariz.) Community College by posting a 12-stroke victory (1,153-1,165) over last year’s national champions. Sandwiching a runner-up finish at last year’s NJCAA Tournament held in Goodyear, Ariz., the JALC Volunteers claimed their second national title in three years. Mesa (Ariz.) CC finished in third place (1,167) for the second straight year.

Individually, Filip Timmerman, of team champion John A. Logan College, captured medalist honors by carding an 8-under-par 280 (72-69-71-68) to out-distance three other competitors by seven strokes.

Representing the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) as reigning four-time NJCAA Region 23 champions, Mississippi Gulf Coast placed 12^th among the 19-team field with a composite team score of 1,213 (306-295-306-306). Individually within the 127-player field, MGCCC’s Jack Sargent led all MACJC golfers with a four-day total of 300 (76-70-75-79) to tie for 38^th place with three others.

Competing individually for MACJC member schools, Northeast Mississippi’s Austin Holt tied for 57^th place (76-80-77-72—305), while Copiah-Lincoln’s tandem of Bennett Ruschewski (77-80-72-78—307) and Keaton Stamps (82-75-80-81—318) tied for 66^th and 101^st place, respectively.