Odessa College coach Paul Chavez knew his team needed to shift its focus quickly to stay near the top of the team standings after a tough showing in the second round of the 2022 NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championship Tournament.
Like many teams in the field, the Wranglers were affected heavily by weather conditions on the competition’s second day.
It seemed the only team not impacted was Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, the team that closed out round two with a 282 score.
Odessa College figured out what needed to be fixed and finished the third round with a 9-under 279 to maintain its spot in the top five Thursday at the Odessa Country Club’s Links Course.
Chavez said the wind played a large role in his team’s struggles Wednesday.
“Kids in general can handle conditions 20-25 [miles] or less of wind, not a problem,” Chavez said. “But when you get to 30-40, it gets a bit dicey and you kind of lose control of the golf ball no matter what you do.”
The winds were at their strongest Wednesday when the Wranglers reached holes 8 through 10, which Chavez describes as the “meat” of the Links Course.
That all changed in the third round as Odessa College got strong performances from each of its golfers, with all five competitors finishing under par.
One of the biggest changes Chavez made going into the round was making a substitution for Cameron Lopez, bringing in Jeff Lebeau.
“It was my decision only, I didn’t consult with anyone,” Chavez said. “I thought Jeff’s been playing well and we needed a spark, and he provided that big time.”
Lebeau carded a round of 5-under-par 67, getting out to a fast start within the course’s first six holes.
He showed how much he can help the Wranglers with birdies on holes 6, 8, 11 and 12, and an eagle on the third hole.
The Quebec, Canada native said he was hoping he wouldn’t need to be subsituted in and wanted Odessa College’s original top five to maintain a consistent showing.
He felt prepared to step and came away pleased with his result.
“Coach told me to have energy and try and have a quick start to get the guys going behind me,” Lebeau said. “I think I did a good job of that.”
Lebeau was the first Wrangler to tee off in the eighth wave, along with Ranger College and Midland College.
He shot the lowest score for Odessa College, followed by Max Cooper (70) while Marcelo Garza, Sangha Park and Laurenz Kubin each posted a 71.
Odessa College will go into the final day of the tournament with momentum on its side to try and post a top-three finish.
The Wranglers (869) are currently in fourth, one shot behind Eastern Florida State (868) and six shots behind New Mexico Junior College (863).
Hutchinson, the defending national champion, leads at 16-under 848.
“We met our goal and now we’ve just got to get ready for that final day and go for it,” Chavez said. “We put ourselves in a great position to get second or third, first may be out of reach but we just want to get some hardware and do the best we can do.”
The fourth round of the competition will take place Friday at the Odessa Country Club’s Links Course.
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