Dallas – The last tournament of the season had Sam Jernigan in the lead of the Rattler pack in an 11th-place finish in the Dallas Baptist University Classic on Tuesday, with three Rattlers finishing above the 50th rank.

St. Mary’s finished with a score of 867 Tuesday, just one stroke behind Midwestern State and conference foe Arkansas-Fort Smith, and one stroke shy of a top-10 finish.

Jernigan (Sr., San Antonio) had a shining first day on the green shooting par and two strokes below par in the first and second rounds with scores of 70 and 68, respectively. His sharp club landed him an eighth-place for the first day, making him the only Rattler to finish within the top 10 and top 20. Jernigan shot five above par in the final round for a 23rd-place overall finish, the highest for the Rattlers.

Freshman Matthew Van Winkle (Castroville, Texas) took after Jernigan, completing his Dallas trip two strokes under Jernigan for a 30th-place finish. Van Winkle swung par in round two for 70 and two strokes above par in the final round at 72. Shawn Bennett (So., Marion, Texas) was close behind, finishing 45th with scores of 72 and 73 the first day.

The Rattlers showed consistency in Dallas, swinging steady throughout the classic to never dip below their 11th-place rank earned after the first day. The two-day tournament marked their last tees of the regular season and last chance to prepare for the Heartland Conference Tournament.

The fight for the conference championship is just days away, taking place in Fort Smith, Ark., on Monday in an all-day tournament.

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