VALENTINE, Neb. - Idaho men's golf got out to a quick start at the Jackrabbit Invitational with a 6-over 294 Sunday, in the first round. The Vandals sit in fifth place after the first of three rounds to be played at The Prairie Club in Valentine, Neb. The tournament, hosted by South Dakota State, runs Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes played each day.

"Not a bad day at all for the guys," said head coach David Nuhn. "We left several shots out there with our putting, but these are as big of greens as I've ever seen on a golf course and the slopes are significant. So it's really a chore to get down in two if you leave your approach shot too far away."

Idaho senior Enrique Marin is tied for sixth individually, at 1-under. Marin carded five birdies on the day, including his first hole of the round, and shot 3-under on the four par fives. He is joined in the top 25 by teammates Klaus Ganter (T-17; 1-over) and Sean Langham (T-25; 2-over). Freshman Colt Sherrell rounded out Idaho's scoring contingent with a 4-over 76 and sits in a tie for 36th.

"I'm really pleased with our seniors, Enrique and Klaus, leading the way," Nuhn said. "Sean hung in there all day and was able to grind out a solid round despite a few wayward shots. Colt stepped up and provided us with a fourth score that we've really been looking for in the mid-70s rather than counting a score up near 80. We're looking forward to round two. We have to let the birdies come to us and not get too aggressive, but we'll be patient and look to shoot under par as a team."

UCF (7-under), Kansas (6-under) and Missouri (even) lead the tournament at or under par. The Vandals are one stroke back of fourth-place Missouri State (5-over) and three strokes clear of sixth-place UMKC (9-over). Idaho will tee off on the front nine Monday, starting at 9:50 a.m. CT.

Team Results
5.    Idaho            294 (6-over)

Individual Results
T-6.        Enrique Marin            71 (1-under)
T-17.      Klaus Ganter             73 (1-over)
T-25.      Sean Langham         74 (2-over)
T-36.      Colt Sherrell              76 (4-over)
70.          Adam Veenstra        84 (12-over)