Sept. 15, 2004

JACKSON, Mo. -

The Southeast Missouri State men's golf team made up eight strokes and moved up two places in the final day of the Harris Fall Classic to finish in second in the team standings with a score of 853 (+1). Heading into the final round of competition they sat in 4th place and at +9.

The final day started with a one hour rain delay at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson, Mo., but the wet conditions did not dampen the feelings of the Southeast golfers as five Indians finished in the top-25 individual finishers.

Zack Decker led the way for the Indians. Behind a final round score of 67, Decker finished third overall with a 209 (-4). Decker used a combination of hitting the greens off the tees on par 3's and a potent driver to finish -2 on par 3's and -7 on par 5's. His 16 total birdies in the Classic led all golfers.

Matt Hillis tied Decker for the lowest final round score with his 67. His strong finish left him with a sixth place finish with a 211 (-2). Hillis parred 42 out of a possible 54 holes in the Classic.

Mark Schmitz finished in 11th place with a 216 (+3) with a final round score of 69 and Brandon Couch finished in 13th place one stroke behind Schmitz with a 217 (+4). Both parred 40 out of the possible 54 holes in the Classic and each shot -4 on par 5's.

Brian Sheehan finished in 23rd place to round out the top Indian finishers. Sheehan finished with a score of 222 (+9).

Southeast led all teams in pars with 185 total pars and finished second with a -15 score on par 5's.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City finished first in the team race with a score of 848 (-4), followed by Southeast, Southern Illinois (855/+3), Morehead State (866/+14) and Missouri Baptist (876/+24) as the top five finishers in the twelve team field.

UMKC's Alan Johnson took home the individual title with a eight-under, 205. SIU golfer Sean McNemar finished second with a 206 (-6).