MANHATTAN, Kan.—The Jax State men's golf team was the runner-up at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Kansas State over the last two days.
 
The Gamecocks posted a 54-hole team score of 866, just two over par for the tournament and finished 16 strokes behind the hosts. Jax State posted a two-over team score of 290 in the first, were six-under at 282 in the second, and finished the tournament with a 294 (+6) on Tuesday.

"Our team fought hard this week," said coach Sylas Elliott. "We got off to a rough start, but battled back well. I'm very proud of Ryley Heath and Ben Shedd for the maturity they showed leading their team this week. Ryley was consistent all week with and Ben overcame a rough first round to have a great finish. Santiago Bailleres had another solid week as well and made a big impact."
 
On the individual leaderboard,  Heath and  Shedd tied for fourth with totals of 215 which is one under par for the tournament.
 
Heath was even each of the first two rounds and posted a one-under 71 in Tuesday's final round.
 
"The team did well this week," said Heath. "I was really happy to see how we all were able to bounce back this week after a tough first event at Louisiana Tech. I think we all were able to step up this week in our own ways that maybe we didn't do the first event. I'm excited about the direction this team is going we have already improved so much since Coach Elliott arrived I believe for myself and the team, it is only up from here."
 
Shedd bounced back in a big way after a 77 in the first round with a three-under 69 in the second round and posted another 69 on Tuesday to move up 11 spots on the leaderboard. Highlighting the weekend for the freshman was an eagle on the Par 4 13^th where he drove the green and needed just a short putt to fall.
 
"I think that our team did a great job this week especially after how we all started our rounds off poorly and were able to bounce back and finish strong," said Shedd. "I think the team is continuing to improve each week and i think we are going to continue to get better and better under Coach Elliot throughout the year. I'm excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for us."
 
Bailleres finished three-over for the tournament to finish 12^th with rounds of 74 and 70 on Monday and a 75 on Tuesday. Bailleres also had an eagle on Monday with a 15-foot putt falling on the Par 5 16^th.
 
Gabriel Restrepo was 25^th with a total of 224 (74-71-79) and Devin Speight was 34^th with a total of 226 (70-74-82).
 
The Gamecocks return to the course on September 22^nd for the GMac Invitational at Limestone Springs in Oneonta, Ala.