Wallace State golf team has high ambitions as it heads to NJCAA District 4 tournament in South Carolina
HANCEVILLE – With each passing tournament, Wallace State golf coach Dan York sees his freshman-laden bunch gaining maturity and feels they are on the brink of breaking through with a first-place finish.
York’s team has already collected a pair of runner-up finishes in five tournaments this spring and seeks to carry the momentum into the NJCAA Division I District 4 tournament, beginning Monday at the Boscobel Country Club in Pendleton, S.C.
“Our players are fired up and looking forward to the challenge. We’ve come a long way as a group, especially since the fall. Central Alabama is our top rival and No. 1 in the country, and we’ve beaten them in two of the last four tournaments after losing to them by an upwards of 30 shots per tournament last fall,” said York, a NJCAA Hall of Fame coach inductee in 2010. “I’m proud of how hard our guys have worked to close that gap.”
Wallace State’s team is ranked seventh in the nation according to Golfstat.com’s head-to-head NJCAA standings and freshman Aksel Olsen, a Norwegian, is 10th among the 100 NJCAA Players to Watch as the season winds down. Wallace State’s Chris Atchley, a Buckhorn graduate, and sophomore Michael Zierdt are also included on the list.
“Aksel had a strong fall, but started the spring in a slump because he wasn’t able to practice a lot when he went home for the holidays. He seems to be coming back around. Aksel is an outstanding young man with a lot of talent,” York said. “We have a lot of talent on the team. All of my guys have worked hard each day to improve as individuals and as a group.”
Zierdt is the lone sophomore who will tee it up for Wallace State at the district tournament. Other freshman competing for the Lions are Jake Miller, an Oneonta grad, Ryan Dooley and Patrick Twesme.
Including the Lions, NJCAA District 4 features five teams ranked in the top 10. The district consists of Central Alabama, Faulkner State, Brevard (Fla.) CC, Cape Fear (N.C.) CC, Darton (Ga.) College, Meridian (Miss.) CC, University South Carolina-Lancaster CC, Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.) CC, Gordon (Ga.) College and Tri County Technical College (S.C.).
The top seven teams will advance to the NJCAA Division I championship in Lubbock, Texas, scheduled for May 12-17.
“Our district is as strong as I can remember. For us to have a chance to win, we’ll definitely have to play our best game,” York said. “You can’t question our work ethic. Our guys have been preparing in the wind, rain and the cold.”
Before the national tournament, Wallace State will compete in the state tournament at Point Mallard in Decatur on April 28-30.
York, the dean of Wallace State coaches, has led Wallace State golf since 1987, guiding his teams to 17 NJCAA national tournaments, including two runner-up finishes, and eight state/region championships.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
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Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu