Golf

WARRIORS RALLY, QUALIFY FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

WARRIORS RALLY, QUALIFY FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Posted: Apr 26, 2022

Hastings, NE – As the theme has been throughout the spring season, the Indian Hills Men's Golf team has made the most of battling from behind as the Warriors jumped two team spots over the final 18 holes to place third overall at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Central District Championship on Tuesday.

Competing for a berth at the upcoming national championships, the Warriors finished with a 27-over 891 to finish behind first-place Iowa Western Community College (18-over, 882) and District runner-up Hutchinson Community College (25-over, 889). After opening the tournament on Monday with a 16-over, 304, the Warriors rallied with a 4-over 292 in the second round and 7-over 295 on the final day for the third-place finish.

Freshman Frank Vucic (Adelaide, Australia/Seaford Secondary College) served once again as the team's top individual, recording his fifth runner-up finish of the season. After back-to-back rounds of 2-over 74, Vucic fired a 2-under 70 in the closing round, tied for the lowest score of the tournament. Only three other individuals recorded a 70 during the two-day, 56 hole event.

Vucic, currently ranked No. 18 in the nation, finished only behind Hutchinson's Harry Crockett, the top-ranked golfer in the NJCAA who shot an even par, 216 on the weekend, just two strokes ahead of Vucic. Hutchinson entered the tournament as the No. 4 ranked team in the country.

Along with Vucic's strong play, the Warriors received a valiant effort from Ryan Thomas (Launceston, AU/Rowville Secondary) who tied for ninth overall with a 7-over 223. Max T. Hartmann (Oslo, Norway/Wang Toppidrett) recorded a 1-under 71 in the second round and tied for 12th overall at 9-over. Jaskaran Sohal (Queensland, Australia/Hills International) tied for 16th with a 10-over 226. Mitchell Revie (Queensland, Australia/Robina State) rounded out the team scoring in 35th place.

The nine-team field qualified the top-five teams in the tournament, meaning that Indian Hills will qualify for the NJCAA DI National Championship for the 19th consecutive year, the same amount of years the Warriors have participated as a NJCAA DI program. The Warriors' national tournament streak extends to 26 overall after qualifying for the NJCAA DII tournament every year from 1996-2003.

The 2022 NJCAA DI National Championship will be held at the Odessa Country Club in Odessa, TX May 10-13. The Warriors placed seventh overall at last year's national championship and have claimed five DI national titles and one DII title in its storied history.