Talented MCC golf trio earns swings at next level

McCOOK, Neb. — Three McCook Community College golfers have signed letters of intent to continue golfing at four- year schools.

KC Carlson, Deniz Sari and Kojie Santos, who were all part of the team that went to the NJCAA National Tournament in May -- and also part of the 2020 NJCAA National Academic Golf Team of the Year -- are moving on.

KC Carlson, (Delta, Colo.) came back to MCC for a third year because of an NJCAA Covid-19 exemption.

He signed on to golf for William Woods University, an NAIA school in Fulton, Missouri. Carlson had seven standings points in the spring for the Indians and posted a 78.6 scoring average and fired a season-low 71 on April 2 at Lamar, finishing in a fifth-place tie in that tournament.

He had standings points in three of the five tournaments scoring top 10 finishes at the Lamar, McCook and Eastern Wyoming meets.

Deniz Sari, of Koblenz, Germany, signed with Delta State University, an NCAA Division II school in Cleveland, Mississippi.

He earned 23 standings points for the Indians this spring with an average gross score of 76.1.

He finished seventh in the Region IX individual standings and brought home four top 10 finishes in five tournaments.

He posted a season-best 71 on the second day of the Lamar Tournament.

He placed fourth in that tournament. Of the nine rounds of golf played in the spring he posted scores in the 70s in seven of thoseSari placed fourth at Otero, fifth at Heritage Hills in McCook and tied for eighth at Eastern Wyoming.

Sari was selected to the All-Region IX team as well as the NJCAA Division I PING All-America and All-District Teams.

Kojie Santos, (Melbourne, Australia) signed with Wilson College, NCAA Division III, in Chambersberg, Penn.

He carded a season-best 74 on the second day of the Lamar Invitational April 2.

His 82 at the one-day MCC Invite was good for fourth place and he finished ninth at the first tournament of the year in La Junta, Colo. For the spring he had a 79.3 scoring average earned MCC seven standings points.

MCC, the NJCAA’s top academic golf team in 2020, compiling a 3.67 grade-point average – was tops from among 180 junior college golf programs across the nation. All three MCC golfers who are moving on, were also honored academically as part of that 2020 national academic championship.

Sari was named first team NJCAA all-academic team with a 4.0 GPA; Carlson received second team honors with a GPA between 3.80-3.99, and Santos was named to the academic all-Region IX team.