Herrin wins, Marion advances from boys golf regional

MARION -- Herrin thrived and Marion survived in the first postseason boys golf tournament this season.
Herrin, led by individual medalist Drew Ringel, won the team title at the Marion 2A Regional at Kokopelli on Tuesday, with the host Wildcats also advancing to sectionals by nabbing the third spot.
Herrin's total was 308, followed by Benton (310) and Marion (337) finishing ahead of Carbondale (344) and Massac County (346) to advance to the Carbondale Sectional at Hickory Ridge.
Ringel and Carbondale's Drew Hudgins both carded a 1-over 72, but Ringel won a playoff for the medalist honor.
Benton's Brendan Luster was third (73) followed by Marion's Isaac Hammet and Corbin Preston at 76. Herrin's Logan Craft was sixth at 77.
Herrin's other players were Josh Green (83), Logan Baggett (87) and Eli Gooch (91).
Marion's other players were Brett Lewis (84), Cooper Smith (87), Karsten Stotlar (90), Hayden Burns (93) and Jacob Henry (95).
Benton's scores came from Luster, Collin Miller (78), Robbie Moore (79) and Jared Shaw (80), with Brad Hammond (82) and Eldon Owens (83) also playing.
Although Massac County did not advance as a team, it's still sending four players -- Dakota Ball, Noah Matesevac, Micah Troutt and Hayden Summers -- to the sectional as individual qualifiers. Carbondale advanced three of its players -- Hudgins, Thomas Taylor and Riley Coffer.
The other individual qualifers were Harrisburg's Andrew Bittle and Ashton Hall and Mt. Vernon's James McGovern.