Odessa, TX – The Indian Hills Men's Golf team wrapped up the 2022 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Golf National Championship on Friday, placing 12th overall in the 24-team field. Freshman Frank Vucic (Adelaide, Australia/Seaford Secondary College) led the Warriors with a fourth-place individual finish.
Vucic earned first-team All-American honors after tying for fourth overall with a 4-under 284. Vucic becomes the first freshman NJCAA First-Team All-American for the Warriors since George Clarke in 2019. Indian Hills has now had at least one NJCAA First-Team All-American in five of the last six seasons.
As a team, the Warriors placed 12th overall with a 26-over, 1,178. The Warriors were the top team from the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) and boasted the third-best finish from the NJCAA Central District. Hutchinson Community College (KS) of the NJCAA Central District Championship took home the top overall team finish with 22-under, 1,300, winning the event by 20 strokes. Just three teams in the four-day, 72-hole event finished below par.
Vucic, one of the top ranked golfers in the nation throughout the year, earned first-team All-American honors after showcasing both a strong start and resilient finish. The freshman opened up the week with a 3-under 69 in the opening round. After a 3-over in the second round, Vucic responded with a 1-under in Round 3 and closed out the tournament with another 3-under.
Vucic registered the third-most birdies on the week with 17, just three shy of the leader. Vucic began the tournament with four birdies on the first five holes and finished the week with a tournament-best six birdies in the final round.
After a slow start, Ryan Thomas (Launceston, AU/Rowville Secondary ) battled back to finish the tournament tied for 26th overall with a 3-over 291. Thomas shot a 2-under 70 in the second round and finished the week with an even par in the final round.
Thomas' ability to showcase his driver was evident in Odessa as the sophomore tied for a tournament-best 7-under on Par 5's throughout the week, tallying an average score of 4.56. Thomas also posted the sixth-most birdies of the week with 14.
Mitchell Revie (Queensland, Australia/Robina State) got off to a strong start on the week for the Warriors, posting an even par through the opening 18 holes. Revie posted the third-best Par 3 scoring of the tournament with an average of 3.0 per hole. Revie also tied for fifth overall with 49 pars on the week.
VUCIC ALL-AMERICAN! @IHCCgolf wrapped up play at the @NJCAAGolf DI Championships in Odessa, TX today by firing its best round of the week (a 3-over, 291), but still dropped 4 slots from 8th place to an final resting spot of 12th place overall in the 24-team field. (cont.) pic.twitter.com/7TMUmd596d
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) May 14, 2022