CANTON, Miss. - Carson Wilder helped the Northeast Mississippi Community College golf program capture its best result in a decade with his second consecutive outstanding performance.
Wilder tied for third with a 3-over-par 75 to guide the Tigers to a second place finish overall at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District D Tournament Preview on Monday, September 21 at Deerfield Golf Club.
The Tigers opened the new season with a one-day total of 313, which was only 11 shots behind champion Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Northeast was 17 strokes better than third place Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
It was the first runner-up showing for the Tigers since April 2010 when future NJCAA All-American Blake Hatfield propelled his squad to the number two spot in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at Raymond's Eagle Ridge Golf Course.
All nine Northeast entrants battled through less than ideal weather in the Jackson metro area with a consistent wind plus off-and-on rain showers throughout the event.
"It was very exciting to finally watch the kids get to compete," said Northeast head coach Derek DeVaughn. "We wish it would have been sunny with no wind, but we just have to play the course the way it is and deal with the conditions the way they are."
Wilder concluded his abbreviated inaugural year at Northeast with a team-best showing of 151 at the Coastal Alabama Invitational. That included a career-low single round score of 74 on the final day at Rock Creek Golf Club.
The Kossuth High School graduate was a triple bogey on No. 16 away from breaking even par for the event. Wilder recorded a pair of birdies on both par-five holes on the front nine on the way to securing all-tournament honors.
"He is playing very good right now," DeVaughn said. "He just picked up from the way he played last year. I'm very proud of him for the way he competed and hung in there."
Joining Wilder in the top 10 of the individual leaderboard were Garrett Gray and Jake Kilcrease. Gray worked his way into a tie for seventh at 5-over-par while Kilcrease found himself in a stalemate for 10th after shooting a 39 on both the front and back nine.
Tate Dickerson ended up in a deadlock for 13th during his initial outing with the Tigers at 7-over-par. Austin Shaw and Austin Lauderdale also landed inside the top 20 with nearly identical figures of 80 and 81, respectively.
Taylor Dean produced an 85 during his first appearance at the collegiate level. Rounding out the list of competitors for Northeast were Connor Wilder at 86 and Chase Calvery at 88.
Northeast hosts the first Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) tour stop of the 2020-21 campaign beginning on Monday, September 28 at Shiloh Ridge Athletic Club in Corinth.