MARICOPA, Ariz. — A career-best performance from Jose Carletta led Wichita State to a fifth-place finish against a loaded field at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club on Wednesday.
 
The Shockers posted rounds of 282, 289 and 276 for an 847, 17-under team total. No. 28 Southern California narrowly won the team title with an 838, 26-under score. Arkansas State's Thomas Schmidt claimed the individual title with a 203, 13-under.
 
In the opening round, Wichita State got off to an excellent start behind strong early runs from Jose Miguel Ramirez, Carletta and Emilio Arellano Lamas. All three finished the round under par, with Ramirez at 3-under, Carletta at 2-under and Lamas at 1-under.
 
In the second round, Wichita State maintained a similar pace to the first before play was suspended due to darkness.
 
After the restart, the Shockers slipped slightly in the standings but managed to finish strong and remain in the top 10.
 
In the final round, Wichita State surged, firing a 276, 12-under team score — the lowest round recorded by any team in Round 3. The push lifted the Shockers into the top five, ahead of No. 42 San Diego and No. 45 South Florida.
 
Carletta capped his career-best performance with a 68, 4-under round to finish in fifth place on the individual leaderboard. Ramirez rallied late to tie for 20th. Lamas and Caden Cox were also under par in the final round, with Cox at 3-under and Lamas at 2-under.
 
With the fifth-place finish, Wichita State defeated five teams ranked in the Scoreboard top 100 and finished just two strokes behind No. 49 UNLV. It was the highest team finish for the Shockers since placing fourth at the Border Olympics on Feb. 17.
 
WICHITA STATE FINAL STANDINGS
5  – Jose Carletta – 70-69-68—207 (-9)
t-20 – Jose Miguel Ramirez – 69-75-69—213 (-3)
t-29 – Emilio Arellano Lamas – 71-73-70—214 (-2)
t-33 – Caden Cox – 73-73-69—215 (-1)
t-64 – Rhett O'Rear – 72-74-74—220 (+4)
 
Team: 5th, 282-289-276—847 (-17)
 
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. No. 28 Southern California – 272-282-284—838 (-26)
2. No. 46 Arkansas State – 273-283-283—839 (-25)
3. Grand Canyon – 274-280-287—841 (-23)
4. No. 49 UNLV – 285-280-280—845 (-19)
5. Wichita State – 282-289-276—847 (-17)
6. Saint. Mary's (CA) – 282-280-287—849 (-15)
t-7. No. 45 South Florida – 288-278-287—853 (-11)
t-7. UTEP – 281-281-291—853 (-11)
t-7. Wyoming – 286-287-280—853 (-11)
10. No. 42 San Diego – 277-293-285—855 (-9)
11. Iowa State – 272-292-298—862 (-2)
12. Cal State Fullerton – 290-286-292—868 (+4)
13. Cal State Northridge – 281-292-295—869 (+5)
14. New Mexico State – 286-296-294—876 (+12)
15. Utah State – 292-299-287 –878 (+14)
16. Western Carolina – 283-295-301—879 (+15)
17. Utah Valley – 284-298-299—881 (+17)
18. UT Arlington – 296-293-293—882 (+18)
t-19. Fresno State – 289-294-300—883 (+19)
t-19. Northern Colorado – 292-297-294—883 (+19)
t-21. San Francisco – 290-297-299—886 (+22)
t-21. Weber State – 296-299-291—886 (+22)
23. South Dakota State – 290-297-303—890 (+26)
24. UC Irvine – 289-303-301—893 (+29)
25. Southern Utah – 292-301-303—896 (+32)
 
Up next
Wichita State wraps up the regular season in the Tiger Invitational, beginning on April 6 in Columbia, Missouri.