The RoundHouse | 10/10/2023 5:04:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
NEWTON - Wichita State men's golf coach Judd Easterling admits there is a burden for the school hosting a tournament.
 
"You're expected to win your home tournament," he said. "It's stressful."
 
He felt better when he watched the pairing of Aston Castillo and Blake Lorenz play Sand Creek Station, the links-style course that hosted the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational.
 
"Blake and Aston played together for all 54 holes," he said. "The vibe was positive. High energy. Good energy."
 
Those vibes paid off for Wichita State, which won the tournament for a second straight year. The Shockers carded a 23-under-par 285 on the par-72 course to finish three shots ahead of Seton Hall and six ahead of Rice.
 
The Shockers pulled away from Seton Hall over the final six holes by recording eight birdies.
 
Oklahoma State's Rayhan Thomas, competing as an individual, shot a 16-ynder par 200 to earn medalist honors. Castillo placed fifth with a 10-under-206 and Lorenz tied for sixth with a 9-under 207.
 
Castillo jumped up the leaderboard with a career-best 65 in Monday's second round and finished carding a 71 in Tuesday's third round.
 
"I left it to the ball-striking – on this course you can't really fake it around," he said. "Greens were big for me today. I was trying to stay patient and when the putter got hot, I was able to ride it."
 
Tuesday's finish continued a positive trend this fall for Castillo, a senior who finished fourth last season in the Grier Jones Shocker Invitational.

"This is the Aston Castillo we've always expected to see," Easterling said.
 
 After not qualifying for the first tournament of the fall, he finished 13^th at the Big O Classic in Omaha.
 
"My mental game wasn't really there coming in, just because summer golf is more relaxed," Castillo said. "It started off rough. I think it was just knocking off rust. I kind of got into form three, four weeks ago. We started qualifying hot, all the guys were shooting good scores and it's boosted everyone's play."
 
Lorenz, a senior from Phoenix, shot a 68 for the first two rounds before carding a 71 on Tuesday.
 
"The last few days were what Blake Lorenz is all about," Easterling said. "Ball striking. Short game. Good putter. This week was good for him."
 
Playing with Castillo – a perk of this tournament's format – helped. In most tournaments, golfers are paired with people from a different score.
 
"It makes it feel like practice and gets the nerves down and you can get in a comfortable zone," Lorenz said. "We were feeding off each other's energy. We're both pretty sarcastic, dry humor. Even in the tough times, it was easy to keep it solid."
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.