The Nixa Eagles put the pedal to the metal, at the Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield on Monday, and raced to the top of an eight team field to capture this year's Central Ozark Conference championship.
The Eagles posted a tournament best score of 329, twenty-two strokes better than the runnerup Carthage Tigers' 351, en route to claiming the 2016 COC-Large title. Finishing third were the Ozark Tigers who turned in a score of 358.
"Our kids played some pretty solid golf today to get the win," Nixa head coach Jeff Lotz said. "Winning the 'COC Tournament' was one of the goals we set for ourselves this year, so I'm really very proud of the effort our kids put out today to achieve that goal."
Nixa was led by the steady play of Seth Kovak. The Eagle junior, and top medalist, fired a 76 to lead all competitors in the tournament.
"Overall I feel like I played some pretty good golf today," Kovak said. "I had a couple of bad holes but I also had a few breaks along the way to keep me on track. I drove the ball really well, hitting it low into the wind and high with the wind at my back when I needed to, and I missed only one fairway."
Lotz especially liked the effort and poise that Kovak exhibited on the course Monday.
"Seth always seems to step up when he needs to," Lotz pointed out about his junior mainstay. "He handles adversity very well. He might have a bad hole or two, as he did today, but he always seems to put it behind him and focus on what's ahead. I think that's one of the reasons he scores so well."
Also scoring well for the Eagles was Reed Johnson. Johnson, only three strokes off the pace set by Kovak, registered a 79 to finish in a tie for second place individual honors with Ozark's Austin Timberlake.
"Austin has been improving all season long," Ozark head coach Justin Peery said about his Tiger linkster. "He had four birdies today- we hope he can continue to play this well throughout district and sectional competition."
With the 'Central Ozark Conference Tournament' behind them COC teams will now begin to prepare for their district tournament set to tee off next week at the 'Twin Hills Golf Course' in Joplin.
"Winning the 'COC Tournament' has to help us going into our district tournament," Lotz said. "I think if we can carry the confidence we gained today into next week we'll be in good shape. We just don't want to get up tight, the way some teams do when they play for the right to move on to sectionals."
"We just need to stay loose, stay focused," the Eagle coach said, "and handle the pressure along the way."
At the district tournament the top two teams, along with fifteen medalists, will advance on to sectional play.
COC Tournament Results
No. Team Score
1 Nixa 329
2 Carthage 351
3 Ozark 358
4 Webb City 361
5 Willard 364
6 Neosho 369
7 Branson 373
8 Republic 383
Top 3 Teams
Only top four scores count.
1 . Nixa Eagles- 1. Seth Kovak- 76, 2. Reed Johnson- 79, 3. Lucas Turnbull- 86, 4. Jacen Clark- 88, 5. Landers Ramsey- 89.
2. Carthage Tigers- 1. Elijah Rehrer- 81, 2. Ty Gary- 88, 3. Grant Trent- 89, 4. Al Musche-93, 5. Mason Bryant- 96.
3. Ozark Tigers- 1. Austin Timberlake- 79, 2. Michael Wiedman- 91, 3. Peyton Blake- 93, 4. Cade Danielson- 95, 5. Zach Johns- 102.
COC Medalists
School Name Score
Nixa Seth Kovak 76
Nixa Reed Johnson 79
Ozark Austin Timberlake 79
Carthage Elijah Rehrer 81
Neosho Austin Clemons 83
Webb City Blake Resa 85
Webb City Chance Stricklen 86
Nixa Lucas Turnbull 86
Republic Alex Holden 88
Carthage Ty Gary 88
Nixa Jacen Clark 88
