For the first time since 2017, the Illinois Central College golf team is spending mid-May gearing up for an NJCAA National Tournament experience.  The Cougars, who placed third out of nine teams at the Region 24 Qualifier on May 1-2 to earn an at-large bid, will now compete against the best Division II junior college players and teams in the nation at Swan Lake Golf Resort on May 23-26.

"We couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to be going to Nationals," first year head coach Sean Kennedy said.  "There were a lot of highs and lows during the season---especially with the unpredictable spring weather in the Midwest---but to get to finish the season playing on the biggest stage will be an unforgettable experience for our team."

Academically the players are putting a wrap on the spring semester as they finish final exams this week.  On Thursday they had their final practice as a team at Coyote Creek in Bartonville to determine playing order for The National Tournament.  To keep their game sharp over the next eight days, the players will have access to practice at five local championship golf courses:  Coyote Creek (Bartonville), Weaver Ridge (Peoria), Metamora Fields, Lick Creek (Pekin), and Quail Meadows (Washington).

The Cougars will reassemble as a group at ICC on Saturday, May 20 when they leave for Plymouth, except for Pontiac native Petyon Cheek and Grant Park native Ryan Dulin, who Kennedy will pick up along the way.  Once the team arrives at Swan Lake, they'll get two practice rounds on the tourney course (Sunday and Monday) and then play a total of four rounds from Tuesday through Friday.  

"Something that's really great is we'll get to stay at the Swan Lake Resort in a six-player cabin," Kennedy said, "That will be a terrific, team building experience for our guys that they'll remember into their adult years."

The Cougars are one of twenty-two teams (out of about 115 schools) who qualified for Nationals.   This will be Kennedy's third consecutive trip to Nationals (he took his previous school, Illinois Valley CC twice), so his ability to mentor the team in a highly competitive environment will be valuable.

"Our goal is to finish in the Top 10," Kennedy said.  "We'll be playing against the cream of the crop of players from all across the nation so hopefully it'll bring out the best in us."  

Team members are freshmen Cheek, Jarod Oderwald (Metamora), Collin Roche (Morton), and sophomores Dulin, Jackson Gray (Canton), and Jeremy Ott (Brimfield).