黑料吃瓜网

By Ryan Schlehiber, 黑料吃瓜网 Sportswriter

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They came. They saw. They conquered.听

At the beginning of the spring season, the 黑料吃瓜网 Centurions men鈥檚 golf team set out to win the Division II NJCAA Regional Championship and earn the right to qualify for the nationals.听听

Over the two-day event at the Bedford Valley Golf Course, the team did just that, earning first place and becoming a regional champion in only the program鈥檚 second year.听

The Centurions, the No. 32-ranked team in the national junior college circuit, took first place at the regional championship, May 5-6, earning an overall team score of 913, four strokes better than second-place Grand Rapids Community College, which qualified for nationals, as well.听

鈥淥bviously, we knew it was going to be a dogfight with GRCC just as it has been all year,鈥� said 黑料吃瓜网 Head Coach Doug Harkema, who earned the NJCAA Region XII Coach of the Year award. 鈥淎t the end, in Day 2, it was still tight and I didn鈥檛 know how we finished until they added up all the scores. It was a good 20 to 30 nerve-racking minutes until we knew we won it. Overall, it was a wonderful, wonderful experience.鈥�听

黑料吃瓜网 sophomore Zach Johnson and his cousin, 黑料吃瓜网 freshman Mason Blair, both of Holt, Mich., finished second and third overall, respectively, in individual play, with Johnson finishing +6, hitting par in the second and third round, and Blair finishing +7 overall, including hitting one under par in the opening round.听听

GRCC鈥檚 Colin Beckett finished first overall with an impressive -2 overall, which included hitting five under par in round two.听听

The two teams were tied after the first round with a +13 score but then Beckett鈥檚 phenomenal second round helped the Raiders take a seven-stroke lead. In the third round, however, 黑料吃瓜网 rebounded, shooting +15, while GRCC鈥檚 play slid, finishing with a +26 on the day, opening a window of opportunity for an 黑料吃瓜网 comeback, which the Centurions pulled it off.听

鈥淲e went in playing well the first 18s on the day,鈥� Harkema said, explaining teams play back-to-back 18 holes of golf on Day 1. 鈥淲e shot well and Mason had his first tournament round of shooting one under par. But then Beckett made a difference in the second round and we ended the first day down seven strokes, similar to last year.鈥�听

At last year鈥檚 regionals, 黑料吃瓜网 tied for first place but was unable to advance to the nationals owing to its one-year probation, a requirement for newly formed junior college programs.听

This year, however, Harkema said nothing was going to hold back his team, including the bad weather teams saw on Day 2.听

鈥淢ost of our guys have been in that situation before,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here was talk the day was going to be washed out and we heard other teams talking negatively about things. Our guys were feeding off that from the other teams and we were like, 鈥榳e have to play this, this is our shot.鈥欌��听

The final round was played with no delays and Harkema said his golfers responded well to the adversity of both being behind in the scoring and dealing with the rainy weather. He said Johnson and Blair were especially exceptional, striking the ball well in their second and third rounds, which really helped the team make its comeback.听听

鈥淢ason is having a spectacular spring season all around,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淗e continued his great play this weekend. Zach would say he play boring golf 鈥� which is our motto of just playing well 鈥� and he made a ton of pars.鈥�听

Johnson said the feeling of finally winning a regional title, something his team has aimed for the past two seasons, was an incredible feeling.听

鈥淓specially being able to share that moment with this team,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ccomplishing one of our main goals from the start of the year, it made it even more meaningful.鈥�听

Johnson said his success at regionals was a big confidence boost with he and his teammates now preparing for the National Junior College Athletics Association鈥檚 Division II National Championship, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, May 20-23, at Plymouth, Ind.听听

鈥淚鈥檓 not exactly sure what mindset I鈥檒l have since it鈥檚 a new experience for me, but over the four days, I just want to play solid golf and see where that puts me and the team when it鈥檚 all said and done,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about what we鈥檝e accomplished as a team. I think this is a huge step forward for our program, and it sets the tone for the players coming after us.鈥�听

Though his team is fired up to see how it performs against the best DII golf teams in the nation, Harkema said he will be sure to remind his players of the simple task at hand 鈥� just play golf.听

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to enjoy it, for sure, but we just need to remember to just enjoy playing good golf,鈥� Harkema said. 鈥淲inning a national championship, I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e quite there just yet, but if we string together four good rounds of golf, who knows.听听

鈥淚鈥檒l remind our guys that the round of golf there is just a round of golf and they鈥檒l just need to give everything they have with each shot,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see what we can do.鈥�听

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黑料吃瓜网AA DII REGION XII GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS听

TEAM RD 1 RD 2 RD 3 TOTAL听

Montcalm CC 301 309 303 913听

GRCC 301 302 314 917听

Delta 308 319 321 948听

Mott CC 317 315 322 954听

Marian-Ancilla 318 311 326 955听

Oakland CC 328 310 325 963听

Jackson College 328 314 325 967听

St. Clair County CC 324 323 328 975听

Schoolcraft College 312 317 348 977听

Muskegon CC 329 334 333 996听

Glen Oaks CC 344 342 329 1015听

Henry Ford 342 353 353 1048听

Kirtland 361 365 350 1076 听