Normal, Ill. - The Illinois Central College golf team earned a return trip to the NJCAA DII Nationals with a second place finish at the Region 24 Championship on Tuesday at Weibring Golf Course. All-American and #1 ranked
Trey Boecker played true to form, earning Individual Medalist Honors.
Boecker, the only player in the field to finish under par with a
-1, and freshman
Connor Watson were named to the five player All-Region team.
"I challenged this Cougar squad to not relive last year's success and to create their own path to the NJCAA National Championship tournament, and they did just that," coach Sean Kennedy said.
Under Kennedy, ICC advances to Nationals for the fourth straight season, where they finished as National Runners-up a season ago.
Nationals are scheduled for May 19-22 at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, IN.
Day 1 - Sunday Recap
Due to forecasted rain on Monday, the tourney was moved up to start on Sunday, which was no problem for the Cougars. With the sun shining and a light wind, Boecker and Watson arrived determined and ready to play, helping ICC get off to a good start.
Both players shot a two-under
69 for the day as the team finished nine-over at 293.
Day 2 - Monday Recap - Rained Out
Day 3 - Tuesday Recap
Monday's postponement meant that 36 holes would be played Tuesday. The cool, windy weather early in the day caused the Cougars to struggle and their score ballooned to a 305, allowing Vincennes to close to within seven shots halfway through the round.
Boecker stayed steady and
Brooks Cluver stepped up to help pace the team, as both players shot a three-over 74.
With the afternoon sun warming and the wind diminishing, ICC took advantage to immediately put distance between them and third place Parkland and Vincennes.
With second place and a Nationals' berth nearly all but decided (the top two teams advance to Nationals) for the Cougars, that meant that the real drama of the afternoon would be a thrilling individual race to see who would be crowned the Region 24 Medalist between the nation's top two ranked players, the #1 Boecker and #2 Gabriele Bravin from Heartland.
The chase for the individual medalist title was a three-horse race midway through the final round as Heartland's Tommy Gneisser held a one-shot lead over teammate Bravin and a two-shot lead over Boecker.
On hole 14, Boecker caught a tough break but made a remarkable par save to stay just two shots down.
Then, standing on the #15 tee, Boecker and Coach Kennedy looked at the scoreboard and saw Gneisser made a mistake and dropped three shots, making the run to the individual Region 24 medalist a four-hole, head-to-head match-up between the favorites, Boecker and Bravin.
Bravin's one-shot lead would be short-lived as Boecker split the fairway on #15, his approach landing ten feet from the cup. Boecker promptly drained the birdie slider while Bravin parred, making the two competitors now tied.
On the #16 tee Bravin's tee shot strayed wide, leading him to bogey the hole with a five. Boecker buckled down, making another tricky birdie putt on the long, difficult hole for a two-shot lead.
The tough-as-nails Boecker had no plans of relinquishing, and he went on to make two strategic, intelligent putts to par the 17th and 18th holes to win the Region 24 Medalist by four shots.
"I've seen the
Trey Boecker 'competitive focus' often---even during our practice sessions--and today was another example," Kennedy said. "It truly has been a pleasure coaching this future Cougar Hall of Famer."
Boecker finished with a two-under
69, while Watson carded a one-over 72, and
Drake Kaufman had a three-over 74.
"Our season started August 21
st traveling to the Highland 36 in Freeport," Kennedy said. "Our 'season' is nine months long and our 36-hole days are 10+ hour endurance tests. This squad continually met and exceeded all the tests I challenged them with. I'm so fortunate to be able to watch them compete one final time at Swan Lake Resort at Nationals."
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
NJCAA DII Nationals
May 19-22
at Swan Lake Resort
Plymouth, IN
