Sandhills CC Men Capture Third NJCAA Golf Title in a Row

The Sandhills Community College men's golf team won its third NJCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship in a row in record-breaking fashion in Chautauqua, NY on Friday.

The Flyers' team score of 1,147 strokes for four rounds broke the previous mark by 21 strokes set in 2006 by Monroe CC (NY) and Louisburg College.  Freshman Ben Read shot his fourth round of par or better and earned individual honors with a 72-hole score of 72-70-67-67-276, breaking the previous tournament record set by Chris Malec of Monroe CC in 2009 by five strokes.

All five of Coach Gus Ulrich's golfers finished in the top nine individually, including sophomore Alex Martin, who knocked eight strokes off his total from the 2022 tournament when he was also the runner-up on the same course to teammate Andreas Huber.  He posted scores of 68-73-71-74-286.

Sophomore Logan Hay's 2-under 70 was one of the lowest rounds of the day and he moved up to fourth place followed by sophomore Noah Maness in sixth place, and freshman Watcharakan Chankarn in ninth.

The national title was the fourth overall for the Flyers and Ulrich.

"This was definitely a pretty significant step in solidifying where we are as a program," he said afterward by phone. "The goal this week was to break the all-time scoring record because I felt our team was that good.

"And Ben Read broke the individual record.  I'm not surprised we played well. Our team was incredible this week."

Finishing in second place for the third year in a row, 41 strokes behind, was Georgia Military College.

Favorable weather in the morning was followed by some wind and rain in the afternoon. As has been the case on a course that has entertained the Division III championship since 2000, Ulrich described the greens as tricky and fast.

"The boys persevered and played right through," said Ulrich who was named the Coach of the Tournament. "The boys had a great time. The camaraderie was fantastic."

Following the award presentations, team members took a dip in Lake Chautauqua, continuing a custom that began with the first of the four titles in 2014. The team is expected to arrive back at the college late Saturday afternoon. 

"The boys had a great time," Ulrich said. "The camaraderie was fantastic."

Also enjoying their stay in Chautauqua were the Coach Herb Pike and members of the Lady Flyers.  Playing as individuals on the same course in the women's championship, Trinity Ahing, Ava Ray and Scotty Foley took the first three places (see separate story). 

Athletic Director and Men's Basketball Coach Mike Apple also liked what he saw.

"It was a great week for the men and women," he said by phone. "We have great golf at Sandhills Community College.  From spending time with them this week, they are also good people and I'm very proud of them."

Men's team standings - 1. Sandhills 292-284-286-285-1,147. 2. Georgia Military 301-293-289-305-1,188, 3. Dupage 323-315-305-309-1,252, 4. Jamestown CC 318-311-326-309-1,264, 5. Butler CC 321-314-322-324-1,281, 6. Onondaga 327-316-322-325-1,290, 7. Minnesota State 330-326-321-331- 1,308, 8. Nassau CC 330-325-338-326-1,319, 9. RCSG Gloucester 352-345-331-340-1,368, 10. Terra State CC 355-347-327-344-1,373, 11. Holyoke CC 433-424-403-418-1,678.

Individual leaders men – 1. Read (SCC) 72-70-67-68-277, 2. Martin (SCC) 68-73-71-74-286, 3. Nick Johnson (GMC) 69-72-72-75-288, 4. Hay (SCC) 75-74-74-70-293, 5.* Troy Loughry (Butler) 74-74-75-71-294, 6.* Maness (SCC) 78-69-74-73-294, 7.* Sean Barrett (Niagara) 73-72-73-76-294, 8. Hammock (GMC) 76-72-71-76-295, 9. Watcharakan Chankarn (SCC) 77-72-74-74-297, 10. Julian Galletta (Onondaga) 76-78-72-72-298. Asterisk – tiebreaker applied.

C. Bergmann