No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast finds itself five shots back of No. 6 Meridian after the first 18 holes at the East Central Spring Invitational in Philadelphia.

 

The Bulldogs shot 12-over and are two shots ahead of Northeast Mississippi.

 

“We had some bright spots today, but overall we’ve just got to execute better,” Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. “We’ve got a shot tomorrow. Meridian’s a good team, and maybe we can get the job done.”

 

Chase Kaiser (Fr., Natchez/Cathedral) and Reeves Johnson (So., Madison/Germantown) are tied for second at 1-over, four shots behind Northeast’s Tate Dickerson. Ethan Trouth (So., Sutton Coldfield, England/The Streetly Academy) is another shot back in a four-way tie for seventh

 

“I’m very pleased with Chase, Reeves and Ethan,” Thornton said. “They’ve really stepped it up here lately. Those three have been working hard, and they’re the reason we have a chance to win tomorrow.”

 

The nine-team field will finish up with the final round Monday. The Azalea Course at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club is playing at 6,718 yards.

 

Team Scores

Team                                 Score

1. Meridian                       295 (+7)
2. Gulf Coast                      300 (+12)
3. Northeast Mississippi      302 (+14)
4. East Central                    318 (+30)
5. Copiah-Lincoln               323 (+35)
6. Itawamba                       326 (+38)
7. Pearl River                     342 (+54)
8. East Mississippi              354 (+66)
9. Southwest Mississippi     355 (+67)

MGCCC Scores

Player                                Score

T2. Chase Kaiser                73 (+1)

T2. Reeves Johnson            73 (+1)

T7. Ethan Trouth                74 (+2)

T12. Matt Wilkinson*         78 (+4)

T17. Hayden Russell*         78 (+6)

T22. David Beard               80 (+8)

T28. Alessio Graziani         83 (+11)

 

For more information on MGCCC’s 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.