Southland Conference Championship
Steele, Men's Golf Claim Southland Titles
4/23/2019 10:44:00 PM | Men's Golf
McKINNEY – Noah Steele had to wait three years for his first individual title for the men's golf team. He picked the perfect two days to do it. Steele fired a 54-hole score of 3-under par to win the Southland Conference championship and help lead the Kats to back-to-back team titles.
Entering the day, the team trailed Lamar by four shots following the opening round. Because of expected poor weather on Wednesday, the league office decided to play 36 holes on Tuesday. The Kats quickly flipped the script, playing the second round 12 shots better than Lamar.
The third round was just a matter of managing the emotions and the course. They fired a 291, their best of the tournament to close out a seven-shot victory over the Cardinals.
“I could not be more proud of the way they handled themselves in tough conditions and in the heat of battle,” said head coach Brandt Kieschnick. “They embraced the challenge today. Last night, we refocused on who we are and what makes us successful. We decided how we were going to go out there today win or lose.”
For Steele, it was all about the second round. On Monday he carded six birdies, but played an even par round of 72. In round two, he once again recorded six birdies, but this time limited the big numbers, shooting a tournament low round of 68. With a pair of birdies on the back nine of round three, Steele cruised to a three-stroke victory over McNeese's Blake Elliot, who is ranked No. 21 in the country by GolfStat.
“Everybody talks about the back-9 on a Sunday or the back nine on the final round is where it is made,” Steele said. “I knew I was in a good spot, but still had a lot of golf ahead of me. I had a birdie putt on 12 and then kind of played flawless coming in.”
Steele was one of two golfers to shoot a round in the 60's this week and was the only golfer to finish under par for the championship. His previous best finish was fifth at the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational at the beginning of the month.
“This fall I thought we had a really good mid-year meeting,” Kieschnick said about Steele. “He had to really dig deep. This year he really looked at himself and look at the areas he has to get better. He is starting to match his mind and his body and that was all building to this win.”
All five golfers for the Bearkats finished in the top 20 of the individual standings. Levi Valadez was 12th at 10-over par. Luis Carrera was one shot back in 13th. William Holcomb and Jack Randle each finished 13-over par for the tournament and placed 18th.
With the win by Steele and the Bearkats, coupled with the women's Southland title and Kenlie Barrett's individual championship last week, Sam Houston becomes the first school to sweep all four golf titles in the same season.
Players Mentioned
