Johnny Wilson ran cross country for Astoria when he was in high school, finishing 22nd in the Class 3A state meet his senior year.

He now plays golf for Southwestern Oregon Community College.

On the surface, he appears to be a perfect fit for speedgolf, the sport that combines the two.

Still, Wilson had to be convinced to tee it up during the recent Bandon Dunes Speedgolf Classic, which marked its seventh year as a spring event at the resort north of Bandon.

After he took third place overall, behind a pair of professionals, Wilson said he was a new fan of the sport.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said after shooting an 86 in 51 minutes and 21 seconds.

“It’s not running or golfing. It’s a completely different game.”

Wilson was convinced to play by Southwestern golf coach Marie Simonds. The Laker golf program became involved in the tournament for the first time when the Southwestern Oregon Foundation became a sponsor of the event. Simonds is the director of the foundation and had all of her players, except Wilson, help out as volunteers.

Wilson, who is a sophomore, said he expects some of his teammates to be playing in the tournament in 2009.

“The coach is already talking about getting some of them to do it next year,” he said.

Wilson has set a pretty high standard for the college kids.

His running time was the best among 15 competitors during this year’s tournament, including professionals Tim Scott and Christopher Smith, who have coordinated the event since its inception.

They only beat Wilson’s total because they shot better scores.

Speedgolf combines the running time and total strokes for an overall score — in Wilson’s case 137:21.

Scott shot a 76 in 55 minutes and 12 seconds (131:12), while Smith had a 78 in 56:18 (134:18).

Wilson’s score was far ahead of the runner-up in the 26-and-under division, Peter Lind, who shot a 96 in 57:53 (153:53).

Jim Kosciolek won the 26-44 age group with a score of 78 in 72:52 (150:52).

Catlin Gabel golf coach John Hamilton took the 45-and-over age group with a score of 88 in 60:41 (148:41).

Hamilton has brought a group of his players to Bandon for the event every year.

“It makes a fun road trip for the kids,” he said. “We make a weekend out of it. Then you’ve got great stories to tell the rest of your life.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a kid come down and not want to come back.”

Hamilton’s group this year included a girl for the first time.

Sophia Roman, a freshman at Catlin Gabel, heard stories from her older brother, Alec, who made the trip the first six years. Still, she was unsure.

“I didn’t think I was going to like it at first,” she said. “I was dreading it.”

She had fun, even though she became the first golfer in Bandon Speedgolf Classic history to play 19 holes instead of 18.

Roman mistakenly took a wrong turn after finishing the seventh hole, venturing onto the Pacific Dunes course and playing that course’s eighth hole.

“I got a par on that,” Roman said, keeping a positive attitude even though she had to run about half a mile farther than the other players, including her time getting back onto the Bandon Dunes course.

“I set a school record for the women’s division of speedgolf,” she said after shooting a 116 in 100 minutes.

Roman also said her mishap did not ruin the sport for her in the future.

“I’ll do it again,” she said.

Complete results for this year’s tournament can be found in the Community Scoreboard on Page B4.