Plymouth, IN - The sixth-ranked Illinois Central College Men's Golf team was busy in Indiana over the past few days, as they were in contention for a National Championship at Swan Lake Resort. The Cougars battled through all four rounds of competition, consistently sitting towards the top of the leaderboard. In the end, ICC was only bested by three-time champ Mississippi Gulf Coast, thus making it a still-historic National Runner-Up Finish for Coach Sean Kennedy's squad, with Trey Boecker (3rd), Quinn Cox (9th), and DJ Norman (13th) all receiving All-American honors. 

MONDAY, MAY 19TH - PRACTICE ROUND
The Cougars were able to get in an 18-hole practice round before the tournament began. Now, ICC had just participated in the NJCAA Preview at Swan Lake back in September 2024, where they finished in fourth place (of 16), and the team in front of them (eventually ironically) would be Mississippi Gulf Coast. The prior familiarity enabled the Cougars to not necessarily play a 'true' round, but rather zero in on hole location, utilizing the past locations from previous Nationals events having been played on the course. 

From there, the team ventured to the Opening Ceremony Banquet put on by the NJCAA, and then on their own time, a bonus sweet treat from Dairy Queen, as it was Illinois Central College Director of Athletics Rob Buss's birthday. It was something that certainly had the team in the proper 'good vibe' head space going into official National Tournament action. 

TUESDAY, MAY 20TH - FIRST ROUND
The Cougars entered Tuesday's first round as the six seed. The high-enough seed earned ICC the later tee times for the opening round, which usually proves beneficial. Temperatures would be a factor from the get-go, with those numbers barely hovering over 50 degrees, with winds and rain interfering as well, but with rain gear in tow, the Cougars were prepared. 

Well, as prepared as they may have been, Mother Nature still reigns supreme. 4-6 holes had been completed, the first of what would be multiple horns would sound, rendering the tournament suspended. That suspension would end up lasting 84 minutes, and after a few additional on and off delays, the Cougars would finally wrap up their day at 8:20PM, but the round was not complete. That turned into an announced restart of 7AM on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21ST - FIRST ROUND (CONT.) & SECOND ROUND
For those in Plymouth on Tuesday, it may have appeared like it couldn't get worse weather-wise. Sure, it was only the first round, the first day of official tournament action, but it seemed as if that was the peak. It wasn't. Temperatures that were once in the 50s were now in the 40th and the winds that maybe just eclipsed 10 miles per hour were now over 20.  

Despite the dip down in weather conditions, the Cougars prevailed, posting a +89/296, climbing to fourth place when everyone had completed their round, ICC and otherwise. Quinn Cox led the way for the Cougars with a +1/73, DJ Norman and Brock Taylor both had a +2/74, and Trey Boecker rounded out the scoring for the day at +3/75. 

Considering the conditions, Coach Kennedy was thrilled with how his team battled through it, even emphasizing that "I really couldn't have asked for anything better". Little did they know "better" was about to happen, for that matter, perhaps even the momentum-changing round of the tournament.

While the weather wasn't any better, the Cougars started round two red hot. Boecker birdied three of his first six holes, Peyton Woods birdied two of his first five, and Cox opened with a pair of birdies. Effectively, ICC could not have started better - they were rolling - nothing could stop them. Well, maybe the suspension horn. That would blow for the fourth time at Nationals in just two days. It would somewhat kill that momentum, with the Cougars making 10 bogies on the 6th-10th holes.

Boecker would have perhaps the shot that turned it all back around, with his approach on 11 landing just inches from the hole and the birdies would return. The freshman birdied five of his last eight holes to post a remarkable -6/66, which would eventually turn out to be the low round of the entire tournament by any player in the field. Woods birdied four of his final seven holes to post a -1/71. Cox posted a +3/75 and Drake Kaufman posted a +5/77 to complete the Cougar scoring. Around 10 minutes after the Cougars had completed their round, everyone's dear friend, the suspension horn, blew again, but the silver lining of course, is that ICC was already done for the day. 

It would be a 289 for the team for the day, the best round of the tournament by any team, which allowed the Cougars to have the team lead, and Mississippi Gulf Coast was in second after a 296, but it had become clearer that it would likely be the Cougars and Bulldogs battling for the National Championship.

THURSDAY, MAY 22ND - THIRD ROUND
Thursday's round felt different. The leaderboard placing had paired ICC with a couple NJCAA Men's Golf 'blue bloods', the aforementioned Mississippi Gulf Coast, and South Mountain, who together have won 11 National Championships. It would be a judgment day of sorts, wanting to see how the Cougars would play starting the day with the lead. Thankfully, the rain had departed, but the winds and temperatures were still hanging around. 

ICC played well, but the Bulldogs played just a bit better. The four-shot lead that the Cougars had become a four-shot deficit heading into Friday's final round. Kirkwood tied the Cougars at 297 for the round, and the Eagles jumped to third place, but beyond that, as mentioned for Wednesday, no other team was within a threatening distance. 

Boecker fired an E/72 to remain in second place individually. Cox and Norman both posted a +2/74 to keep their All-American hopes alive, and Taylor rounded out the scoring with a +5/77. 

The Cougars were frustrated, but ended their day with some fine-tuning at the practice facility and rest up for their quest to a National Championship on Friday. 

FRIDAY, MAY 23RD - CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
ICC started the day in second place as a team, four shots behind Mississippi Gulf Coast. Boecker started the day three shots behind the leader, Stanley Campbell from the Bulldogs. It only took until Championship Friday, but the weather had improved. Temperatures had returned to the 50s, and the wind speeds were 10 miles per hour at best. Championship day pin placements are certainly not the easiest, but the Cougars had worked on it in their practice round. 

ICC struggled early in the round, dropping seven shots within the first three holes. On hole nine, the struggles would continue, undoing birdies made by Kaufman, Cox, and Norman. With nine holes left, ICC was +10 and now six behind Mississippi Gulf Coast, with South Mountain and Kirkwood starting to get closer. 

The Bulldogs made a couple more birdies, and the Cougar deficit had grown to 10 with seven holes to play. ICC, however, would fight right back into the picture. How appropriately so would it be that the National Championship would come down to the 18th hole. Cougar All-Americans Norman, Cox, and Boecker all played the 18th hole brilliantly. 

Their efforts set up three different birdie putts. Make one of them and it's a tie for the National Championship. Unfortunately, none of the three birdie putts would fall, and par putts would follow, and Mississippi Gulf Coast slipped by the Cougars by a singular stroke to win the team National Championship. The National Runners-Up finish is still the highest-ever finish in the history of the ICC Men's Golf program. 

Boecker posted a +1/73, Norman posted a +2/74, Kaufman and Cox both posted a +3/75 to make up the team's fourth consecutive sub-300 round at the National Championship, making ICC the only team to do so. 

TEAM SCORING BREAKDOWN
National Champion - Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs - 1178
National Runners-Up - ICC COUGARS - 1179
3rd Place - South Mountain Cougars - 1190
4th Place - Kirkwood Eagles - 1191
5th Place - Murray State Aggies - 1197

INDIVIDUAL PLACING
Trey Boecker - 3rd Place - NJCAA First Team All-American
Quinn Cox - T-9th Place - NJCAA Second Team All-American
DJ Norman - T-13th Place - NJCAA Second Team All-American

FULL RESULTS LINK
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FINAL THOUGHTS FROM COACH SEAN KENNEDY
"Proud. I simply could not be more proud of what this talented, determined Cougar squad accomplished this week and this year. Even though Mississippi Gulf Coast took one fewer swing than the Cougars this week, it would be very wrong to suggest this squad came up short in any sense of the word. These Cougars excelled on the golf course, they excelled in the classroom, and I am confident they will excel in the next chapter of their young lives. This Cougar squad won nine tournaments this year, won an MWAC Conference Championship, and are the 2025 NJCAA Golf National Runners-Up. I am proud and thankful to have had the opportunity to coach these talented Cougars."