April 11, 2011
Red Wolf Round One Results in PDF Format 
JONESBORO, Ark. -
After a long day of rain delays, the Illinois State men's golf team finished the first round of the Red Wolf Intercollegiate at the Ridge Pointe Country Club tied for 12th, after the Redbirds recorded a single-round 298. Jeff Kellen led the `Birds with his five-under-par 67, to sit in third place going into the final round.
"Jeff Kellen played another great round of golf and looked very comfortable doing it," said head coach Ray Kralis. "His play was impressive enough to make his 67 look easy. He has really raised the level of his game this spring, and it's great to see his preparation and commitment to the sport paying off."
The next-leading Redbird was Wils Hawn, who posted a two-over-par 74 and tied for 42nd place.
"From a team standpoint, however, we left a low number stranded again with four guys near the bottom of the pack," Kralis said. "Tomorrow is a big round for us with four Valley schools in the field and the conference championship just two weeks away. 40% of the field shot 73 or better, so low numbers are out there. The plan is to get out of the gate quickly, close in strong fashion, and see what happens. I know we have the collective talent to do it."
Ricky Hearden finished the round tied for 81st with individual Matt Hagemen, as both Redbirds recorded single-round 78's.
Eric Meier ended the day with a 79 and tied for 86th. Parker Freiburg finished one stroke behind Meier with an 80 and is tied for 95th.
Illinois State shares the four-way tie for 12th place with Missouri-Kansas City, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin. The four-team cluster sits just one stroke behind Missouri Valley Conference foe Northern Iowa with a single-round 297.
The Missouri State Bears lead the MVC schools in eighth place with a 293 total.
Central Arkansas and Meridian share the first-place spot, as both teams recorded first-round 281's.
Play continues Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. for the final round.
Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.
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