PALO ALTO, Calif. - Kansas State fought hard, but couldn’t overcome its 12th-place start at the Nelson Invitational. The Wildcats carded a final round 286 and finished in seventh out of 16 teams with a team score of 292-271-286849 (+21). K-State finished 19 strokes behind tournament champion New Mexico, but were just five strokes out of fourth place.

“At this level of competition, we needed one more solid score, and we’re just missing that right now,” head coach Tim Norris said. “We gave up too many strokes during the first round. Whenever you start in 12th, it’s hard to get back into it, but I’m proud of the kids. They really fought hard.”

Senior Matt Van Cleave led the way for the Wildcats, as he finished in a tie for ninth with a 68-70-72210 (+3). Van Cleave finished in the top 10 in three of the five fall tournaments and now has nine career top 10s.

Junior Ben Kern continued his consistent play with a 12th-place finish. Kern carded a final-round 73 and finished with a 75-63-73211 (+4). It is the second straight top 20 for Kern, who didn’t finish worse than 23rd all fall.

Junior Jonathan James turned in the best performance of the day, as he carded a career-low 68 (-1) and moved from being tied for 61st all the way into a tie for 31st.

“I’m really proud of Jonathan,” Norris remarked. “He really finished the fall nicely. I’m very excited for him. He really worked hard during his redshirt year last season, and now its paying off.”

Rounding out the lineup were Tyler Cummins and Nick Schumacher. Cummins finished tied for 50th at 75-70-73218 (+11). Schumacher had his most disappointing round of the season, as he carded an 80 and finished with a 74-68-80222 (+15).

Georgia State’s Steve Tiley tied New Mexico’s Spencer Levin for first place at 198 (-9). New Mexico defeated UNLV for the team title by five strokes.

The Wildcats are finished with their fall schedule and won’t compete until Feb. 14-15, 2005 at the Matlock Collegiate Classic.

Men’s Collegiate Golf
The Nelson Invitational
Palo Alto, Calif.
Stanford Golf Club
Par: 69; Yardage: 6,444

Team Scores: 1. New Mexico, 277-269-284830; 2. UNLV, 279-268-288835; 3. Georgia State, 275-279-283837; T4. Missouri 284-275-285884; T4. Stanford, 285-279-280844; 6. Kansas, 287-278-282847; 7. Kansas State, 292-271-286849; 8. Colorado, 291-280-282853; 9. Notre Dame, 279-288-287854; 10. UC Davis, 295-286-278859; 11. West Florida, 292-287-292871; 12. Idaho, 293-289-293875; T13. Northern Colorado, 286-287-303876; T13. Colorado State, 289-288-299876; 15. Florida Southern, 291-296-296883; 16. Texas-Pan American 304-301-297902.

Top Individuals: T1. Spencer Levin, (New Mexico) 65-65-68198 (-9); T1. Steve Tiley, (Georgia State) 67-67-64198 (-9); 3. Jared Texter, (UNLV) 70-65-71206 (-1); T4. Tyler Docking, (Kansas) 68-69-70207 (E); T4. Jay Reynolds, (New Mexico) 68-67-72207 (E).

Wildcat Individuals: T9 Matt Van Cleave, 68-70-72210 (+3); T12. Ben Kern, 75-63-73211 (+4); T31. Jonathan James, 75-72-68215 (+8); T50. Tyler Cummins, 75-70-73218 (+11); T63.Nick Schumacher, 74-68-80222 (+15).

K-StateSports Men's Golf

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