HUMBLE, Texas -- Midwestern State had one of those days in the opening 36 holes against a talented field in the Houston Classic Monday at the Golf Club of Houston.

The bad news was four Mustangs fired season-high scores, yet Midwestern State still managed to battle into the seventh spot on the team leader board with a 39-over total of 615 carding totals of 307 and 308.

"Every two years, you have a day like today where your team just doesn't have it," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "We got a little frustrated and made bad decision out of frustration. On this type of course, you can't do that. Your intentions are great, but your results are not."

Defending NCAA Division II champion Arkansas Tech takes a 19-stroke lead into the Tuesday's final round. The No. 4-ranked Wonder Boys carded totals of 293 and 281 for a 2-under total of 574.

ATU is trailed by No. 5-ranked Oklahoma Christian (593/+17), Central Oklahoma (593/+17), Cameron (602/+26), Harding (608/+32), Arkansas-Fort Smith (614/+38) and MSU.

Midwestern State senior Jake Doggett amassed five birdies and 22 pars on his way to carding a 1-over 73 then matched season high with a 4-over 76 in the second round to stand in a tie for 12th with a 5-over 149. 

Doggett's season high of 76 merely underscores the Hutto native's sensational fall when he posted two individual wins with six rounds in the 60s and nine par-or-better scores in 14 competition rounds. His stroke average of 70.5 propelled the southpaw to No. 10 individual GolfStat ranking.

Junior Mason Mikeska proved solid firing scores of 77 and 75 to tie for 23rd with a 7-over total of 152.

Jake Leatherwood experienced a maddening day of success and struggle. The junior from Snyder posted a team-high eight birdies including five in the opening round to finish with a 1-over 73.

He was exceptional going a combined 5-under par on the Pars 3 and 5, but battled his way to a season-high 80 in the second to tie for 26th with an 8-over 153.

Junior Garrett Leek suffered through a career-high, 12-over 84 in the first round and followed with a 78 to tie for 60th with a 17-over total of 162, while freshman Ryan Hailey also recorded a season-high total of 85 in the opening round and followed with a 79 to tie for 66th with a 19-over 164.

J.T. Boyd proved to be the bright spot for Midwestern State. The sophomore from Quanah matched a career low with a 2-over 74 in the first round and followed with a 78 to tie for 23rd with a 7-over 152. Both scores would have counted the Mustangs.

"We were really proud of J.T.," Ray said. "He's been getting better and better. He worked all the way through stage qualifying to get to this tournament. He is going to continue to get better."

The final round of the Houston Classic begins with a shotgun start Tuesday at 8 a.m.
                

Houston Classic

Team Leaderboard

Pos	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Arkansas Tech	-2	293	281	---	574
2	Oklahoma Christian	+17	302	291	---	593
	Central Oklahoma	+17	288	305	---	593
4	Cameron	+26	306	296	---	602
5	Harding (Ark.)	+32	297	311	---	608
6	Arkansas-Fort Smith	+38	308	306	---	614
7	Midwestern State	+39	307	308	---	615
8	Mississippi College	+40	307	309	---	616
9	Southern Arkansas	+41	309	308	---	617
10	Montana State-Billings	+46	317	305	---	622
	Missouri-St. Louis	+46	303	319	---	622
12	St. Thomas (Texas)	+59	324	311	---	635
13	Southern Nazarene	+86	329	333	---	662
14	Texas A&M-San Antonio	+104	339	341	---	680

  

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Evan Griffith	Central Oklahoma	-5	66	73	--	139
2	Santiago De La Fuente	Arkansas Tech	-4	75	65	--	140
3	Andre Jacobs	Arkansas Tech	-2	69	73	--	142
4	Francois Jacobs	Arkansas Tech	+1	71	74	--	145
	Bennett Baldwin	Central Oklahoma	+1	71	74	--	145
6	Exequiel Rodriguez	Oklahoma Christian	+2	75	71	--	146
	Julio Rios Brache**	Houston	+2	74	72	--	146
8	Henry Frizzell	Arkansas Tech	+3	78	69	--	147
	Alejandro Armijo	Oklahoma Christian	+3	76	71	--	147
10	Joel Sylven	Missouri-St. Louis	+4	73	75	--	148
	Caleb Kimmel	Central Oklahoma	+4	72	76	--	148

  

Midwestern State Scorecard

7	Midwestern State	+39	615	307	308	---
Place	Player	To Par	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
T12	Jake Doggett (1)	+5	73	76	--	149
T23	Mason Mikeska (5)	+7	77	75	--	152
T26	Jake Leatherwood (3)	+8	73	80	--	153
T60	Garrett Leek (2)	+17	84	78	--	162
T66	Ryan Hailey (4)	+19	85	79	--	164
T23	J.T. Boyd (Ind.)	+7	74	78	--	152