AKRON, Ohio — After shooting back-to-back scores of 8-over par 296 on Monday, the Kansas State men's golf team stayed steady on Tuesday as it carded a 9-over par 297 in the final round to finish fourth at the Firestone Invitational.

The Wildcats, who began the day tied for tied for fifth, were able to move up one spot as they shot the third-best round on Tuesday at the par 72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club.

"We had a pretty good day today," said head coach Tim Norris. "We had a 9-over par, which, due to the weather, was a lot better than the 8-over par yesterday. It was pretty breezy today with a 15-20 mile-per-hour wind from the first hole to the 18th green. Our guys threw away the opportunity to win the tournament yesterday, but didn't let it affect them today and they put in a great round."

St. Mary's came from behind to win the event with a final score of 5-under par 869. Eastern Michigan, which led the event heading into the final round, fell into second place after posting a 6-over par 870. Big Ten power Michigan State finished in third at 24-over par 888. Coming in fifth behind K-State was Kentucky, which carded a 26-over par 890.

Rickey Stout of Western Carolina took home the individual title with a 5-under par 211, just clipping Marty Jeppesen of Eastern Michigan, who fired a 4-under par 212. Robert McRae of St. Mary's finished third after carding a 2-under par 214.

K-State senior Joe Ida, who entered the final round in third place, was able to hang on to record his second top-five finish of the fall season as he finished fourth with a 1-under par 214.

"Joe was contending for the title for a little bit today but didn't have the back nine that he wanted," said Norris. "There were some tough holes out there, and he had a really good tournament."

Senior Mitchell Gregson finished in 15th place after carding a 5-over par 221.

Coming off a tough start to the tournament, senior Joe Kinney rebounded to card 17 pars and one birdie in the final 18 holes, placing him in a tie for 20th place with an 8-over par 224.

Jason Schulte tied for 58th place with a 21-over par 237, while freshman Curtis Yonke shot a 22-over par 238 to tie for 60th.

Three Wildcat individuals will compete in the Bill Ross Intercollegiate in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday and Tuesday, October 19 and 20. The next team tournament for K-State is in Las Cruces, N.M., as the Wildcats compete in the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, Monday and Tuesday, October 26 and 27.

Firestone Invitational

Akron, Ohio

Firestone Country Club

Par 72 7,125 yards

Team Scores

1. St. Mary's, 291-286-292-869 (+5); 2. Eastern Michigan, 283-293-294-870 (+6); 3. Michigan State, 293-292-303-888 (+24); 4. Kansas State, 296-296-297-889 (+25); 5. Kentucky, 296-293-301-890 (+26); 6. Toledo, 302-294-300-896 (+32); 7. Akron, 296-296-305-897 (+33); T8. Pacific, 310-293-303-906 (+42); T8. Marquette, 298-302-306-906 (+42); 10. Rhode Island, 299-293-316-908 (+44); 11. Western Carolina, 306-300-312-918 (+54)

Top Individuals

1. Ricky Stout, Western Carolina, 69-70-72-211 (-5); 2. Marty Jeppesen, Eastern Michigan, 69-71-72-212 (-4); 3. Robert McRae, St. Mary's, 73-72-69-214 (-2); 4. Joe Ida, Kansas State, 73-70-72-215 (-1)

K-State Individuals

4. Joe Ida, 73-70-72-215 (-1); T15. Mitchell Gregson, 73-72-76-221 (+5); T49. Joe Kinney, 74-79-71-224 (+8); T58. Jason Schulte, 76-75-86-237 (+21); T60. Curtis Yonke, 78-82-78-238 (+22)

* Competing as an individual