East Mississippi's Miles Respess enters final round of NJCAA Division II Golf Championship in 43rd place

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – East Mississippi Community College's Miles Respess heads into Friday's final round of the 2013 NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship tied for 43^rd place after carding a 79 Thursday at the Goose Pond Colony Golf Course.

Prior to his 7-over-par 79 on Thursday, Respess, from Paragould, Ark., previously sat in an eight-way tie for 22^nd place following his opening-round, even-par 72 on Tuesday and his 1-over 73 the following day.  The sophomore's 8-over-par total of 224 is tied with two other competitors for 43^rd place among the 122-player field.

The race for individual medalist honors is shaping up nicely with several competitors in the hunt for the national title.  Heading into Friday's final round, Steve Souchek (69-73-66—208), of John A. Logan (Ill.) College, holds a one-stroke lead over Parkland (Ill.) College's David Keenan (66-70-73—209), who owned first- and second-round leads.  Souchek matched Keenan's opening-round 66 with a 6-under-par 66 of his own during Thursday's third round to take the one-shot edge.  Trailing close behind tied for third at 6 under for the week are Brad Hawkins (72-69-69—210), of Walters State (Tenn.) Community College, and Marley Sweeney (71-71-68—210), of front-running South Mountain (Ariz.) Community College.  

With three other golfers sitting among the Top 10 entering Friday's final round, the Cougars of South Mountain CC appear to be in excellent position to repeat as NJCAA Division II men's golf team champions with a commanding 23-stroke lead over second-place Walters State.  SMCC added a second straight 281 on Thursday, along with Tuesday's opening-round 284, to account for the team's tournament-leading, 18-under composite score of 846.

Reigning six-time NJCAA Region 23 Champion Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College begins Friday's action in a three-way tie for sixth place with a three-day team score of 887 (291-296-300).

Tied for 10^th with a 2-under composite score of 214, MGCCC's Jake Pritchard (70-73-71) presently tops the list of the 10 MACJC golfers competing in this week's national tournament.  Copiah-Lincoln's Corbin May, this year's NJCAA Region 23 and MACJC State champion, and Chad Cupples, of Northwest Mississippi, are tied for 18^th with three-day totals of 217.

Fourth-round tee times begin at 7 a.m. Friday and continue through the final group teeing off at 1 p.m.  EMCC's Respess is slated for an 11:03 a.m. tee time for the final round.    

With a four-star rating by Golf Digest magazine, Goose Pond Colony is a George Cobb-designed course that sits on the banks of the Tennessee River's Lake Guntersville and nestled into the Cumberland Mountains.  The par-72 layout is playing 7,145 yards to a rating of 73.1, slope 129.  Results from Friday's final round of the national tournament will be available online at http://www.mccaa.org/f/0/3/Golf/2013_Golf_Nationals.php.

NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship Third-Round Results