Effingham, Ill. - The Illinois Central College men's golf team captured the Mid-West Athletic Conference Championship for the second time in three years at Effingham Country Club, winning by seven strokes on Monday. All-American Connor Watson (SO-East Peoria HS) led the way for ICC as he also brought home the individual title.

Coach Sean Kennedy's squad also won the team title in 2024.

This year's championship came by virtue of a total team effort as four Cougars carded Top 10 finishes with Carson Oliver (FR - Mt. Zion HS), Jacob Voss (FR - Fulton HS), and Wyatt Novotny (FR- Bureau Valley) joining Watson in earning All-MWAC honors. 

Watson's individual title gave the Cougars a three-peat for Conference Champion as Trey Boecker (2025) and Peyton Woods (2024) also claimed invdividual honors. 

Morning Round
It was apparent from the get-go that Effingham Country Club was going to be a stern test for the entire field.  Hole locations were tricky and tucked, and the greens were slick and treacherous as the grounds' crew seemed determined to give the entire field a true "collegiate" experience.

The Cougars and rival Heartland both got off to bumpy starts, while Lewis & Clark lurked close behind. Watson and Carson Oliver (FR-Mt. Zion) both made a couple of late first round birdies to trim the Hawks' opening round lead for ICC's 14-over par 302 morning round, trailing Heartland by 2 shots at the halfway point.

Afternoon Round
Kennedy described the Cougars' afternoon round in one simple quote saying, "Our team played some golf this afternoon."

Voss set the tone as he made a couple of early birdies to erase HCC's lead as ICC and the Hawks separated from the field to make it a 2-team race. The Cougars darted ahead as their lead swelled to five, but Heartland immediately responded, trimming the margin back to two swings with seven holes to play. 

Novotny then provided a spark, making an eagle 3 (par 5) on the 14^th hole to jump-start the Cougars' championship push. Watson, the NJCAA All-American, then provided the knock-out punch when he went on what Kennedy described as a "Connor heater," birdying 5 of his final 6 holes to send the Cougars to a 7-shot victory.

The Cougars fired a brilliant  afternoon 1-over par (289) to win in dominant fashion.

Medalist Playoff
The "Connor heater" ended the team championship drama, but the individual M-WAC Championship was still to be determined between he and Heartland's Joey Trupiano (ironically, the Cougars had the Sunday night team dinner at the Trupiano family pizza restaurant in Effingham) as both finished play still tied for the lead at 1-under par (143) to warrant a sudden death playoff between the two. 

Watson and Trupiano returned to the 18^th tee, which was a dogleg 365 yard par 4 with the green complex sitting directly under the Effingham CC large veranda back patio. 

Both players hit big drives, and each had 25-yard flip wedges onto the green. Watson knocked his approach to eight feet, while Trupiano slid a little farther to twelve feet out. A large hometown crowd gathered on the patio, watching Trupiano burn the edge of the cup and settle for a tap in par 4.

Watson's 8 foot birdie putt disappeared into the bottom of the cup, silencing everyone except his jubilant Cougar teammates to claim the third consecutive M-WAC Medalist title for ICC.

Quotes from Coach Kennedy
"Connor's East Peoria HS golf and baseball coach Matt Plummer told me that Connor is one of the most determined competitors he has ever coached, and I can now say the exact same thing. It seems when the lights get brighter, Connor just finds another gear and closes the deal. Five birdies in his final six holes on those difficult pins to secure a team championship and force an individual playoff was impressive. There just aren't any words I could say that would do justice to that individual performance I just witnessed. Connor Watson is just a special athlete, a special teammate, and I'm so glad he chose to be a Cougar."

Four Earn All-Conference Honors 
The Cougars placed four players on the 2026 M-WAC All-Conference Team. In addition to Individual Medalist Watson, freshmen Oliver, Voss, and Novotny were also named to the First Team.   

"This was a terrific effort for Carson, Jacob, and Wyatt to make the MWAC All-Conference team as freshmen. Our young men have logged numerous practice rounds this fall and it's encouraging to see their hard work rewarded," Kennedy said.

Results link:    https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/248030/scoring/team

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
Sunday/Monday, Oct. 4-5
8:30 am 
at Bradley Coyote Creek Classic
Coyote Creek Golf Club
Bartonville, IL