2023-24 Shocker Men's Golf

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks finish Round 1 at 8-over par. Lucas Scheufler blew up his round early a finished with the away 9-over par. Otherwise, the Shocks appeared to be heading towards a pretty solid finish with their #1 golfer, Blake Lorenz, sitting at 2-under par after 12 holes. Over his final 5 holes Blake carded 4 bogeys and 2 double-bogeys to balloon to a 6-over 78.

Otherwise, Aston Castillo at 1-under, Zack Sokolosky at 1-over and Michael Winslow at 2-over were relatively solid.

The Shocks were in 4th place tie with Indian Hills CC after round 1 and trailed Hutch CC by 4-strokes.

Freshman Ty Adkins, playing as an individual carded a solid 1-over par in Round 1.

Round 2 is underway.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocker men did not implode like the Shocker women did in their round 2 but they were they went from 8-over in round 1 to 12-over in round 2 dropping from a 4th place tie to 9th place trailing leader Hutch CC by 15 strokes. The Shocks also find themselves 3 strokes behind Indian Hills CC.

Blake Lorenz rebounded from his late collapse in round 1 to shoot a 1-over 73 to lead the Shocks. However, Michael Winslow could not find any birdies in round 2 and finished at 7-over 79 which was matched by Lucas Scheufler who continued his struggles from round 1.

The 2 best Shockers have been Aston Castillo who shot a 2-over 74 to go with his 1-under 71 in round 1 and Zach Sokolosky at 4-over 76 to go with his 1-over 73 in round 1.

Freshman Ty Adkins shot a 6-over 78 after his 1-over 73 in round 1.

Not a good afternoon for the Shocks.

[1972Shocker]

Play at the Big O Classic Women's tournament at the Oak Hills Country Club was stopped due to rain/lightning in the area and will not be resumed. Scores will revert to the 36-hole results after Monday.

The men, who are playing at Indian Creek Golf Course which is about 10 miles NW of Oak Hills, appear to be still playing.

Apparently, there was a fairly lengthy rain delay with most of the players have 4-to 5 holes left to play but they were able to come back and finish round 3 off.

The Shocks did put up their low round of the tournament at 6-over 294 and moved up 2 spots to finish 7th place. Hutch CC who lead after 2 rounds had a miserable day at 22-over 310 and actually ended up in 8th one stroke behind the Shocks.

Michael Winslow, Lucas Scheufler and Aston Castillo all carded 3-over 75's with Zach Sokolosky leading the way with a 3-under 69. Blake Lorenz had the throw away scored at 7-over 79.

For the tournament Sokolosky was 2-over which tied him for 5th and Castillo tied for 13 at 4-over. The 3 Shocks playing in the top 3 spots for the Shocks were a combined 45-over par.

Freshman Ty Adkins shot a 5-over 77 in round 3 and finished at 12-over.

The Shock were 14 strokes behind Creighton (A) and Omaha who tied for 1st and also trailed North Dakota, Indian Hill CC, Creighton ( B) and Lindenwood while moving just ahead of Hutch CC thanks to their final round collapse. Not exactly college golfing royalty. Granted Creighton and Omaha perhaps had the advantage of playing on a course they are probably very familiar with but still, it's a bit hard to stomach finishing behind both Creighton's A team and B team and to finish behind a juco and ahead of another juco only by the grace of the golfing gods.

What to make of this? I don't know but it is not very encouraging.

Maybe the Shocks and Hutch shared a bus and saved a few bucks.

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - Shockers Set to Host Second Annual Grier Jones Shocker Invitational

The Wichita State men's golf team is set to host their lone home tournament of the season next week at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kansas.

Head men's golf coach Judd Easterling is very excited that his team will be playing at home for the first and only time this year.

"It's going to be nice to sleep in our own beds and just get up and drive 20 minutes to get to the course," Easterling said. "There's going to be a good sense of comfort for us at Sand Creek since it's close to home and we've played there a lot this year already."

All nine Shockers on the 2023-24 roster will compete in this tournament. Zach Sokolosky, Aston Castillo, Blake Lorenz, Michael Winslow, and Ty Adkins will be in the Shocker starting lineup, while Adam Balatka, Conner Geist, Tate Herrenbruck, and Lucas Scheufler will all compete as individuals.

"I'm very greatful to be able to play host to this tournament at Sand Creek Station," Easterling said. "Chris Tuohey, who is the director of golf at Sand Creek, has done a tremendous job getting this tournament set up for us and we thank him all his hard work."

Five teams who competed in the first annual Grier Jones Shocker Invitational are set to return for the second go around, with ten newcomers joining the field this year.

Last year, the Shockers defended their home turf, winning the team title by four strokes over second place Utah Valley to claim their first tournament championship since 2019.

The Field: 15 teams, *Oklahoma State competing as individuals only.
Air Force, Abilene Christian, Denver, Drake, Hutchinson CC, Missouri State, La Salle, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State*, Rice, Seton Hall, SIUE, Texas-Arlington, Texas A&M – Commerce, Texas – Rio Grande Valley, and Wichita State

[1972Shocker]

UT-RGV finding Sand Creek Station to their liking. The are starting on holes 9 and 10 (so playing the back 9 first) and are 7-under through 9-holes with the worst score among their 5 guys being even par.

The Shocks are at even par but started on the front 9.

So it will be interesting to see how the rest of the round goes as the teams flip-flop nines.

I think round 1 is in the books but the live stats look to be somewhat messed up.

[1972Shocker]

Looks like the live stats are straightened out.

The Shocks finished round 1 in a 4-way ties for 2nd at 3-under par 285 along with Rice, Seton Hall and Missouri State. This group trailed the leader Oklahoma State by 6 shots as the Cowboy gunslingers put a 9-under 279 on the board with UTRGV 3 shots behind the Cowboys at 6-under 282.

Blake Lorenz led the way for the Shocks with a 4-under par 68, followed by Aston Castillo at 2-under 70, Zach Sokolosky at 1-over 73 and freshman Ty Adkins at 2-over 74. Michael Winslow had the throw away score at 5-over 77.

Tate Herrenbruck and Lucas Scheufler led the 4 Shockers plays as individuals with an even-par 72 and a 1-over 70.

[1972Shocker]

A lot of movement in the standings among the tightly packed field early in the 2nd round.

The Shocks were off to a very good start in round 2 but have fallen back a bit. Freshman Ty Adkins was was 1-under after 3 holes before 2 bogeys sandwiched around a snowman on the par-4 6th hole has kind of scuttled his round. Will be up to the other 4 guys to hold it together.

[WuDrWu]

Will be up to the other 4 guys to hold it together.

Apparently they did just that, shooting a blistering -17 by my math in Round 2. Early today in round 3 they are tied for 1st with OSU.

It's certainly not OSU's A team, but it doesn't appear to be their bottom 5 either (they are RV maybe 27th in the latest poll). I wonder if the temporary closure of Karsten Creek is having an adverse affect on the program (I don't believe KC will be open until spring 2025 but I could be wrong). I suppose you can't expect to have a Viktor Hovland walking through the door every season.

Too bad Lucas Scheufler couldn't be one of the 5 in place of Ty Adkins this week. Ty is currently +13 good for 83rd place while Lucas is -2 which is good for a tie for 19th. Ty just went bogey, triple, bogey on the front nine to almost assure he'll be the throw away round today.

Zach Sokolosky has birdied four holes in a row after an opening bogey on 1 to lead the way today.

[1972Shocker]

Apparently they did just that, shooting a blistering -17 by my math in Round 2. Early today in round 3 they are tied for 1st with OSU.

It's certainly not OSU's A team, but it doesn't appear to be their bottom 5 either (they are RV maybe 27th in the latest poll).

Too bad Lucas Scheufler couldn't be one of the 5 in place of Ty Adkins this week. Ty is currently +13 good for 83rd place while Lucas is -2 which is good for a tie for 19th.

Zach Sokolosky has birdied four holes in a row after an opening bogey on 1 to lead the way today.

Indeed they did. Perhaps one of the best responses in a long time, if not the best ever, from a Shocker team when one of their teammates blows up. Sand Creek apparently pretty welcoming to low scoring as you have 11 of the 16 team field under par after 2 rounds. Still having four Shockers going low in the same round is highly unusual. Aston Castillo 65 (-7), Michael Winslow 67 (-5), Blake Lorenz 68 (-4), and Zach Sokolosky 71 (-1). The Shocks won the initial Grier Jones Shocker Invitational last year at Crestview CC (North Course) with a 1-over team score. This year's field is bigger and better than last year's field. I think it is fitting that OSU send a team to this tournament in light of what Grier did during his Cowboy career.

Ty Adkins with the throw away score of 81 (+9). The situation where a player like Lucas Scheufler competing individually be far better than one or more of the guys in the starting lineup seems to happen a lot.

Looks like we are in for a repeat today with the Shocks top 4 guys not have any cushion. Adkins appears to be very unsettled and is already 6-overr after 6 holes. After putting up a snowman on the Par 4 6th in the 2nd round he carded a triple bogey 7 on that hole today to go along with 3 bogeys on the other 5 holes he has played. Ty birdied the 6th hole in round 1. Must have pissed it off. Ty is the only one of the Shockers' 5 team scoring players to birdie that hole over 3 rounds.

[1972Shocker]

The course setup for Round 3 appears to be less accommodating, which is not unusual for the final round. At the midway point of their round the Shocks at even par as 3 ot their top 4 guys bogeyed number 9. The Shocks are clinging to a 1 stroked lead over OSU, and 2 strokes over Rice. All the Shocks started on #1 except for Ty Adkins who started on #2 so they have only the back 9 remaining which so far has seemed to be the easier to score on.

Poor Ty Adkins continues to struggle as he opened his back 9 with a quad-9 on the par 5 9th and a triple bogey 7 on the par 4 10th hole and is at 14-over par after 10 holes. Feeling bad for that young man. Lucas Scheufler is 1-over after finishing the front 9.

[1972Shocker]

With the Shocks trailing OSU by 1 stroke with about 3 holes to play Aston Castillo and Michael Winslow each carded back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to propel the Shocks past OSU and hold off a charging Seton Hall as the Shocks defend their title in the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational with a 23-under par score of 841, which was 3 strokes ahead of OSU and Seton Hall and 6 strokes clear of fellow AAC member Rice.

Seton Hall had by far the best round of the day at 11-under with the next best closing round at 4-under. The Shocks were 3-under for the day. Actually, I was a little surprised 2 East coast teams were in the field with LaSalle joining Seton Hall. They were certainly treated to about the nicest weather that Wichita can serve up.

Zach Sokolosky led the Shocks in round 3 with a 68 (-4) followed by Aston Castillo and Blake Lorenz who both shot 71 (1-under) and Michael Winslow at 75 (+3 and highlighted by his 2 birdies on 16 and 17). Freshman Ty Adkins pretty much imploded over the final 2 rounds and Coach Easterling has a challenge to rebuild that young man's confidence.

Individually Aston finished 5th at 10-under, Blake finished tied for 6th at 9-under and Zach was tied for 15th at 4-under for the Tournament.

Lucas Scheufler had a pretty good tournament playing as an individual. He tied for 21st at 2-under.

Final Results: https://results.golfstat.com/public/...team&tid=28364

The Shocks will now be treated to a trip to the Bahamas to finish out their fall on October 18th - 22nd at the Bahamas NCAA Invitational.

[WstateU]

With the Shocks trailing OSU by 1 stroke with about 3 holes to play Aston Castillo and Michael Winslow each carded back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to propel the Shocks past OSU and hold off a charging Seton Hall as the Shocks defend their title in the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational with a 23-under par score of 841, which was 3 strokes ahead of OSU and Seton Hall and 6 strokes clear of fellow AAC member Rice.

Seton Hall had by far the best round of the day at 11-under with the next best closing round at 4-under. The Shocks were 3-under for the day. Actually, I was a little surprised 2 East coast teams in the field with LaSalle joining Seton Hall. They were certainly treated to about the nicest weather the Wichita can serve up.

Zach Sokolosky led the Shocks in round 3 with a 68 (-4) followed by Aston Castillo and Blake Lorenz who both shot 71 (1-under) and Michael Winslow at 75 (+3 and highlighted by his 2 birdies on 16 and 17). Freshman Ty Adkins pretty much imploded over the final 2 rounds and Coach Easterling has a challenge to rebuild that young man's confidence.

Individually Aston finished 5th at 10-under, Blake finished tied for 6th at 9-under and Zach was tied for 15th at 4-under for the Tournament.

Lucas Scheufler had a pretty good tournament playing as an individual. He tied for 21st at 2-under.

Final Results: https://results.golfstat.com/public/...team&tid=28364

The Shocks will now be treated a trip to the Bahamas to finish out their fall on October 18th - 22nd at the Bahamas NCAA Invitational.

[1972Shocker]

Men’s Golf Set for Battle in the Bahamas

The Wichita State men's golf team is set to make their first of two international trips this season, this one to Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Ocean Club Golf Course to compete in the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Invitational from October 20-22.

The Shocker lineup will return four faces from the lineup at the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational where the Shockers captured their first tournament title of the year. Aston Castillo will headline the Shockers as the #1, while Blake Lorenz, Zach Sokolosky, Michael Winslow, and Tate Herrenbruck will fall in behind to round out the lineup.

"We played off our fifth spot in the lineup between two guys. We put it in their hands letting them play out 36 holes." Easterling said. "With this being such a special event, we wanted the best man to earn the spot and Tate (Herrenbruck) came out on top in the playoff."

This event is the Shockers last of the fall campaign and they will resume tournament action on February 5th in Cancun, Mexico where they will compete in the Los Vaqueros Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley.

Santa Clara is hosting this tournament. The men's teams competing are Georgia State, Jacksonville State, North Alabama, North Texas, Santa Clara (A & B teams), Southern Illinois, St. Mary's, Wichita State and Wofford. St. Mary's is the highest ranked team. North Texas and Santa Clara are expected to contend. The highest ranked player is senior Eric Jansson, a Swede who plays for Jacksonville State.

North Texas did play in the Shocks opening tournament of this year down in Florida finishing in 3rd, 11 strokes ahead of the Shockers, who finished 6th in that tournament.

Live stats for both events will be available through Golfstat.com.

If nothing else looks like it should be a fun trip for the guys. https://www.whitesandsbahamas.com/20...-invitational/

[1972Shocker]

Hopefully, the Shocks are having fun in the sun because the golf, while not terrible I suppose, hasn/t been the best. After 2 rounds the Shocks find them selves in last place in the 10-team filed at 2-over par. A 2-over team score doesn't sound too bad on its face, but it is all relative. The Shocks are the only team in the field that is over par. The Santa Clara B team and Wofford are tied for 8th at under par. Santa Clara leads the field at 26-under par followed by North Texas at 21-under par.

The Shocks were 7-over after Round 1 and in 9th place, 1 stroke ahead of the Santa Clara B team. In Round 2 the Shocks improved by 12 strokes coming in at 5-under. But the Santa Clara B team was 9-under to move out of the basement.

The Shocks lowest player, Blake Lorenz, is 1-under and tied for 27th on the players leaderboard.

About the best the Shocks can do is finish 7th with a good final round.

[1972Shocker]

In the final round the Shockers rallied over the final 3rd of today's final round to go from 6-over par to even par to finish the tournament at 2-over par. As with the first two rounds that sounds like a decent team score for most tournaments. But that is not the case in this tournament on this course. That even par team score in the final round was the worst score of the day. The other 9-teams were all under par. 2 teams were 2-under for the round and 1 team was 5-under for the round. The other 6 teams were double digit number under par ranging from 11-under to 22-under par.

Santa Clara won the tournament at 45-under par, followed by North Texa at 41-under and St. Mary's at 39-under.

The Shocks were the only team not under par for the tournament. Wofford finished 9th at 6-under par, 8 shots ahead of the Shocks. The Santa Clara 'B' team was 8th at 15-under par, 17 shots ahead of the Shocks.

Zach Sokolosky at 2-under and Aston Castillo at 1-under were the only 2 Shocker players under par fo the tournament and those scores were only good enough tor a 27th place tie and a 31st place tie on the individual leaderboard.

I think this would have to classify as a disappointment. Epescially finishing 43 strokes behind fellow AAC member North Texas not to mention 27 shots behind Southern Illinois.