Bryant & Stratton holds off IVCC to claim first Region IV title
BYRON, ILL. - Shortened from a three-day tournament to a two-day event, yet still featuring 54 holes, Bryant & Stratton College earned their first NJCAA Region 4 Divisoin II Men's Golf Championship at PrairieView Golf Club. The Bobcats posted a three-round total of 970 to finish three shots ahead of Illinois Valley Community College's 973. The Eagles were paced by Region 4 medalist Ian Roach as the freshman's 229 was tops among a heated race to finish in the top 15 for All-Region accolades.
Bryant & Stratton found themselves tied atop the leaderboard with defending champion and perennial power Black Hawk College with a 312. The Braves maintained hold of the top spot with a 321 team total for the second 18, placing them three shots ahead of Bryant & Stratton and ten better than IVCC. The final 18 would tell a different story, with BHC falling back thanks to a 353 total to finish fourth overall. Taking advantage were B&S with a 334 and Illinois Valley with a 330 to jump into the top two spots, automatically qualifying to the 2021 NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana, on May 18-21. Andy Runkel of Bryant & Stratton College was named the 2020 Region 4 Coach of the Year.
The chase for the individual crown saw nearly a dozen players within reach heading into the final 18 holes. A 74 by Byn Cyr of Illinois Valley was the best of 12 sub-80 rounds over the opening round. Roach surged to the top of the leaderboard with a 74 of his own to card the lowest number of the split 18. He led Black Hawk's Peyton Perez by a single stroke going into the last round, which ended with just six sub-80 scores. Roach, a native of Hennepin, Illinois, shot a 79 to secure a three-shot victory over Perez, who qualifies individually for the national tournament along with College of Lake County's Trevor Brandon and Konnor Kinimonth, Carl Sandburg College's Grant Otting and Cole Hopping, and Highland Community College's Connor Shoemaker.
**NOTE: Due to travel restrictions from the Covid-19 Pandemic, the NJCAA Region 4 Division III Tournament will be held at PrairieView Golf Club on May 16-17.
First Team
Ian Roach - Illinois Valley Community College
Peyton Perez - Black Hawk College
Trevor Brandon - College of Lake County
Mason Polivka - Bryant & Stratton College
Grant Otting - Carl Sandburg College
Second Team
Clay Wells - Illinois Valley Community College
Trey Fullmer - Bryant & Stratton College
Konnor Kinimonth - College of Lake County
Connor Shoemaker - Highland Community College
Cole Hopping - Carl Sandburg College
Third Team
Austen Velazquez - Waubonsee Community College
Caden Fletcher - Bryant & Stratton College
Jake Rude - Sauk Valley Community College
Thomas O'Connor - Kishwaukee College
Kyle Ketcham - Highland Community College
Coach of the Year
Andy Runkel - Bryant & Stratton College
(Picture courtesy of Bryant & Stratton College Athletics)