Robby Rodgers was glad to leave Woods Fort Golf Course in Troy with another all-Eastern Missouri Conference medal on April 22.

The Montgomery County senior wished his team would have walked out of Lincoln County with a conference championship.

Rodgers led the Wildcats with a fifth-place finish with an 18-hole score of 94 at the EMO championship tournament, giving him his third all-league medal. He was also one of four MCHS golfers who received medals.

But the efforts didn’t help MCHS capture an EMO title. The Wildcats placed third in the nine-team tournament with a 391.

“We really wanted to win this year,” Rodgers said. “We are kind of bummed that we didn’t, but most of us medaled, so it’s OK.”

The Wildcats won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. After placing second to Bowling Green last year, MCHS was hoping to get back on top this year. But the Wildcats came up six strokes short of a championship as North Callaway won the league crown with a 385. Van-Far – led by individual champion Pacey Reading with a 14-over-86 – was second with a 386.

“We definitely expected to win the conference this year, not get third place, which is a little embarrassing,” said MCHS senior Maddox James, who helped the boys basketball team win the conference title this winter.

Sophomore Wyatt March finished eighth with a 96, James came in 11th with a 99 and sophomore Karter Reagan placed 13th with a 102. All three players earned all-conference honors for the first time. The top 15 finishers receive all-EMO awards.

Also for the Wildcats, senior Cade Smith shot a 120 with a par on the par-5, No. 4 hole.

Rodgers shot a 46 in the front nine and a 48 in the back to earn his third all-EMO award. He placed ninth with a 94 as a sophomore and sixth with a 93 in his junior year.

“It’s pretty cool,” Rodgers said. “I wished I could say I got it all four years, but I’m not going to complain about three out of four. I really want to do well at districts this year.”

Rodgers finished with three pars, but had eight bogeys and seven double bogeys in the par-72 course.

“There were a lot of shots I left out there,” said Rodgers, who had a sixth-place finish at the Missouri Military Academy Invitational three days before. “There were a few holes I didn’t putt very well and there were some shots I didn’t get back. Overall, it wasn’t a bad day.”

Rodgers said the course was not easy to play in. Out of the 43 golfers in the tournament, only two of them broke 90 and nine shot under 100.

“The greens were pretty hard today,” Rodgers said.

March finished with four pars and a birdie in the par-4, No. 9 hole in his first appearance at the conference tournament.

James shot a 45 in the front and a 54 back and fired three pars in his second EMO tournament appearance. He improved by six strokes from last year. Still, he wasn’t pleased with his performance.

“I’m disappointed in myself,” James said. “I shot a 54 in the back. It was rough. I definitely should have done better than that. I’m happy that I shot a 45 in the front, but I can’t shoot 50s on any night.”

Reagan, who competed at the EMO tournament for the first time, finished with a team-high five pars. His older brother, Keaton, won the conference individual championship last year.

The Wildcats will compete in the Class 2, District 2 championship tournament on May 6 at Norwoods Golf Club in Shelbina.