Trio of Wichita State men’s golfers advance to second round of Kansas Amateur

A trio of Wichita State men’s golfers from this past season’s team advanced to the second round in the Kansas Amateur Match Play Championship at Topeka Country Club on Thursday.

Defending champion Zach Sokolosky, a Wichita native and recent WSU graduate, was joined by teammates Lucas Scheufler, another Wichita native, and Michael Winslow as winners in the opening round of the 64-player bracket.

Sokolosky, the No. 6 seed following 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, closed out recent high school graduate Lane Workman 2-and-1 thanks to five birdies. Winslow, the No. 10 seed, topped Pittsburg’s Jake Bradbury, 1 up, and Scheufler, the No. 39 seed, held off a furious comeback from fellow Wichita native and KU sophomore Noah Holtzman to win with a birdie on the 20th hole.

A total of 14 of the top-16 seeds advanced to the second round, including 10 from the Wichita area.

K-State senior Cooper Schultz , the 2021 Kansas Am champion and Andover Central graduate, earned the No. 1 seed and closed out Maize South graduate Kyle Kasitz, 3-and-2. Meanwhile, recent Kapaun Mt. Carmel graduate Asher Whitaker , the 2022 Kansas Am champion and incoming Oklahoma freshman, earned the No. 3 seed and won 5-and-3 over Topeka’s Luke Leonetti.

The second-largest upset, at least according to seed, belonged to Andover graduate James Hill , who knocked off No. 9 seed Chance Rinkol, 2-and-1, as the No. 56 seed.

A pair of former Wellington standouts both won on Thursday, as No. 17 seed Blake Saffell , a senior for Kansas City, knocked off Eisenhower graduate Brody Scafe, 3-and-1, and No. 29 seed Deitrek Gill , a junior at Pacific, won 2-and-1 over Alex Hogan.

Derby native Shane Gilbert , a Southwestern graduate, won in 20 holes over Max Ernst, while Collegiate graduate Ian Trebilcock , who golfed for Washburn, also win in 20 holes over Myles Tarvin and Kapaun graduate Brent Reintjes , a senior at SIU-Edwarsdville, won 1 up over Parker Beal.

Full results and schedule for the Kansas Amateur can be found at golfgenius.com .

Kansas Amateur’s Friday schedule

No. 1 Cooper Schultz (Wichita) vs. No. 32 Tyler McNeive (Overland Park)

No. 16 Matt Ewald (Topeka) vs. No. 17 Blake Saffell (Wellington)

No. 8 Ian McCrary (Overland Park) vs. No. 25 Ty Lasley (Overland Park)

No. 24 Griffin Mott (Overland Park) vs. No. 56 James Hill (Andover)

No. 4 Easton Johnson (Kansas City) vs. No. 29 Deitrek Gill (Wellington)

No. 13 Shane Gilbert (Derby) vs. No. 20 Alex Valdivia (Topeka)

No. 5 Will King (Olathe) vs. No. 37 Jack Randall (Lawrence)

No. 12 Bryson Oots (Kansas City) vs. No. 21 Ben Sumada (Parkville, Mo.)

No. 2 Alex Springer (Olathe) vs. No. 31 Stuart Boulware (Fairway)

No. 15 Ian Trebilcock (Wichita) vs. No. 47 Calvin Dillon (Louisburg)

No. 39 Lucas Scheufler (Andover) vs. No. 58 Jake Huffaker (Salina)

No. 10 Michael Winslow (Overland Park) vs. No. 42 Jack Tarvin (Olathe)

No. 3 Asher Whitaker (Wichita) vs. No. 30 Ben Pearson (Overland Park)

No. 14 Zach VanDolah (Kansas City) vs. No. 19 Hudson Bennish (Fairway)

No. 6 Zach Sokolosky (Wichita) vs. No. 38 Brent Reintjes (Wichita)

No. 11 Kyle Smell (Overland Park) vs. No. 43 Parker Bennett (Overland Park)