Golf

SOPHOMORE CLASS ADDS MORE HONORS

Posted: Aug 02, 2021

Ottumwa, IA – Five members of the 2021 Indian Hills Men's Golf program have been honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) as National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American Scholars, presented by Srixon/Cleveland Golf.

The entire sophomore class from the 2021 team that helped propel the Warriors to a seventh place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Championship have been honored for excellence in the classroom. Thomas Burou, Harry Fearn, Blade Gadd, Cyril Henault, and Antoine Sale met the GCAA criteria to wrap up their Indian Hills' career with additional accolades.

"Very impressed with the dedication from all these guys and setting the bar for the rest of the Warriors behind them," stated Indian Hills Head Golf Coach John Mulholland. "Academics and competing in anything we do is important for these guys as they move on to the next level of their golfing career."

To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status, an individual must be receiving their Associate's Degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA. In addition, they must participate in 40-percent of his team's competitive rounds, have a stroke-average under 77.0 in NJCAA competition, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.

In total, only 13 NJCAA student-athletes earned the distinguished GCAA All-American Scholar honors, with five coming from Mulholland's squad.

"Having the whole class of sophomores achieve AAA status is an amazing achievement," Mulholland added. "The balance of travel and school work whilst being in and out of the classroom along with all things that covid 19 brought with it was always going to be difficult but they showed me how resilient they are."

As a program, the Warriors were one of four teams at Indian Hills to earn NJCAA Academic Team of the Year recognition after obtaining a cumulative team GPA of 3.21. Three individuals earned NJCAA All-Academic honors – Fearn (Second-Team), Sale (Third-Team), and Henault (Third-Team). All five GCAA honorees also earned Iowa Community College Athletic Association (ICCAC) Academic All-Region honors as well.

The Warriors ranked No. 5 in the final national rankings after a strong finish at the NJCAA National Championship. Burou, Fern, and Sale were all recognized as All-Americans for their accomplishments on the course.

Mulholland noted the impact the awards have towards the program. "Putting in the time to achieve good grades, and being good at anything you do is something that translates for the rest of your life. The education that they have received here at IHCC will help them tremendously in anything they do in the future.

Any nationally recognized award is exciting to have in the locker room for the guys to see and work towards. Very fortunate to have so many this year and look forward to adding more in the 2021-22 season."