Junior Tyler Gast shot two straight rounds in the 70s Monday and Tuesday at Rivercut golf course in Springfield, Mo., to tie for tenth and receive all-state honors for the first time.

Gast missed the top 15, all-state cut by two strokes his sophomore year but broke through Tuesday with a 77 to accompany his first-day 79 and joined an elite group of Class 3 golfers.

"There were a few strokes left out there but other than that I played pretty well," Gast said. "In the first round there were a couple of close chips around the green that affected me but it was pretty solid.

"I was hoping to get top 15 this year. Last year I missed it by two. Top 15 was what I was looking for."

Gast said despite decent playing conditions the competition the field didn't play as well Tuesday. He said his "solid" round of 77 could have been worse had he fallen victim to the course.

"It wasn't playing horribly but if you missed a few shots it's going to play tough," Gast said. "Luckily, I didn't do that. The fairways were beautiful; the greens were still a bit rough."

Nevada seniors Zach Braucher and Brandon Davis were the Tigers' only other entrants, both in their first and last state tournaments.

Braucher barely missed the cut for state last year and took advantage of a strong round at district this year to qualify. He strung together two rounds in the 80s at state to finish at 51st with a 166. Davis shot 90, 92 and took 110th.

The state tournament was the culmination of the best year boys' golf has had under head coach Brian Leonard. The Tigers took third in the Southwest Conference and edged out Carthage in a tie-breaker to take second at district.

Leonard said he thought his team took advantage of some late-season momentum to do some damage in the postseason. Nevada's first-ever win over Carthage at district and numerous top-three finishes might not have been expected in March.

"We had a very successful season," he said. "We were in the top four or so in several of the last tournaments we played and that's the time of year you want your team to peak. I think they did."

Kearny won the tournament with a team score of 628. Priory and Pembroke Hill took second and third with 633 and 643, respectively.

Kevin Bell is the Class 3 state champion following a 74, 75 performance for 149.