John Brown University's golf team got off to a strong start last week, finishing 10th in the Southwest Christian Fall Invitational held in Oklahoma City.
It's a trend the Golden Eagles hope to continue the rest of this fall and into the spring.
JBU has a total of seven golfers on the roster and only one senior in Tommy Wright, who played all last spring while recovering from a torn ACL.
"We're still really young," said coach Doug Turner, who is in his first full year after being named interim coach last spring.
Sophomore Trevor Barton of Rogers, who led JBU with a fifth place finish in their first match, was the Golden Eagles' top golfer in 2013-14, Turner said.
"Trevor is our most steady," Turner said. "He wound up being our team medalist over Sam Greenleaf. All the other guys have had moments of really good play. We should get a little more consistency this year."
Greenleaf is one of three juniors, along with Max Gordon and Robert Raborn, a junior college transfer.
Barton and Josh Crystal are the sophomores while Owen Brown and Thatcher Radler are the freshmen.
Turner said he wants to see improvement on the course and most importantly in the classroom.
"In the classroom I want to see our grade-point to be higher than in the past," he said. "That's important. On the field I would like to see us develop a level of consistency. Guys will shoot 69 one day and 93 the next. I'd take two 79s. I'm hoping we'll get more consistent than we have in the past."
The Golden Eagles will end up playing at least four events this fall, including the most recent one hosted by Southwest Christian.
They'll play in around five events in the spring.
JBU will play Lyon College (Batesville) at Centennial Valley in Conway on Saturday and then turn around on Tuesday and play Oklahoma Wesleyan at Hillcrest Country Club in Bartlesville, Okla.
The Golden Eagles will participate in the Oklahoma City University Invitational held at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kan. on Sept. 29.
Turner said the Golden Eagles are trying to add a fifth meet in October, but those plans have not been finalized.
Sports on 09/10/2014