Advance's Whitson places fourth at Class 1 state golf tournament

Advance's Brian Whitson, tied for the lead entering the day, shot a 14-over-par 86 in the second round of the Class 1 state golf tournament Tuesday at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, Missouri, and tied for fourth place.

The Hornets sophomore carded an ever-par 72 to tie Jack Parker of Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School of Columbia, Missouri, in Monday's first round. Whitson finished with a combined score of 158. Whitson finished 19th as a freshman at last year's state tournament.

Parker shot a 75 on Tuesday for a 147 total to claim the state championship.

St. Vincent senior Levi Gotto finished eighth to earn all-state honors, which went to the top 15 finishers. The senior shot an 11-over-par 83 during the second round after a 79 in the first round for a 162 total. It was the second all-state finish for Gotto, who tied for third as a junior.

Barat Academy defended its state title in the team standings.

Team Scores -- 1. Barat Academy 671; 2. Father Tolton 676; 3. La Plata 695; 4. Thayer 706; 5. Lincoln 745; 6. Green Ridge 760; 7. Albany 774; 8. Mid-Buchanan 779; 9. Gallatin 802

Final Top 10

1. Jack Parker (Father Tolton) 147

2. Sean Weber (Barat Academy) 154

3. Trevor Cronin (Barat Academy) 157

4. (tie) Justin Evans (Crest Ridge), Brian Whitson (Advance) 158

6. (tie) Connor McCarty (Father Tolton), Peyton Needy (Green Ridge) 159

8. Levi Gotto (St. Vincent) 162

9. Cody Quint (Putnam County) 164

10. (tie) Ben Bolden (La Plata), Tommy Montileone (Greenwood Laboratory) 165

Area individuals

Advance -- Brian Whitson 158, Spence Lorch 199

St. Vincent -- Levi Gotto 162

Class 3

Notre Dame sophomore Jack Litzelfelner was unable to successfully defend his state title, but his second round of 76 was two shots better than his opening round and he earned all-state honors with a 154 total that tied him for eighth place at the Class 3 tournament at Fremont Hills Country Club in Fremont Hills, Missouri.

Notre Dame posted a 321 total in the second round. Brady Dixon (78), Nick Cantoni (79) and Jonathan Bell (88) helped round out the team score Tuesday.

Dixon finished in a tie for 17th with a two-day total of 161.

The Bulldogs ended fourth in the team standings with a 649 total. Pembroke Hill (637) won the team title.

First-round leader Davis Alec Palen, of Logan-Rogersville, followed his opening 69 with a 76 and finished co-medalist with Boonville's Brett Windsor at 145.

Team Scores -- 1. Pembroke Hill 637; 2. Logan-Rogersville 640; 3. Mary Institute & Country Day School (MICDS) 640; 4. Notre Dame 649; 5. West Plains 652; 6. Hannibal 663; 7. Nevada 667; 8. Priory 674

Final Top 10

1. (tie) Davis Alec Palen (Logan-Rogersville), Brett Windsor (Boonville) 145

3. Gabe Wheeler (Sikeston) 149

4. Andrew Lilly (MICDS) 150

5. (tie) Ethan Luecke (Warrenton), Davis Soderberg (St. Charles West) 152

7. Preston Fleenor (Pembroke Hill) 153

8. (tie) Ben Charles (West Plains), Jack Litzelfelner (Notre Dame) 154

10. (tie) Isaac Burroughs (West Plains), William Esrey (Pembroke Hill) 155

Notre Dame -- Jack Litzelfelner (78-76--154), Brady Dixon (83-78--161), Jonathan Bell (80-88--168), Nick Cantoni (96-79--175), Trent Schumer (87-90--177)

Class 2

Kelly's Derrick Garner shot a 93 in the second round of the Class 2 tournament at Silo Ridge Golf & Country Club in Bolivar, Missouri, to place 71st.

Garner, a senior, finished with a two-day total of 185.

Kory Franks of Blair Oaks followed a first-round 69 with a 78 to win the Class 2 title.

Barstow finished four strokes ahead of Whitfield in the team standings.

Team Scores -- 1. Barstow 659; 2. Whitfield 663; 3. Lamar 665; 4. Eugene 674; 5. Blair Oaks 681; 6. Springfield Catholic 687; 7. Living Word (O'Fallon) Christian 689; 8. Penney 712

Final Top 10

1. Kory Franks (Blair Oaks) 147

2. Walker Kesterson (Southern Boone) 150

3. Sean Benton Mulkey (Ash Grove) 152

4. Landon Maberry (Lamar) 154

5. (tie) Ian Barnes (Licking), Daymond Dollens (Centralia) 155

7. Hunter Baggett (Palmyra) 157

8. (tie) Gavin Arnold (Macon), Tanner Elder (Blair Oaks), Brett Miller (Butler) 158

-- From staff reports