The Nebraska Wesleyan University men's golf team overcame a five-stroke deficit and shot a round of 310 in the final qualifier round to stake claim to the 2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference men's golf championship that was held Tuesday (Apr. 28) at Whispering Creek Golf Course in Sioux City, Iowa.

[Final Results] [Day 4 Results]

The GPAC title is the fourth in the last five years for the Prairie Wolves and the sixth overall GPAC Championship for the men's golf team.

The Prairie Wolves trailed Dakota Wesleyan University by five strokes heading into the fourth and final GPAC qualifier. NWU shot 310 to lead all teams on Tuesday and DWU had a team score of 319 to give the Prairie Wolves the four stroke victory.

Patrick Hanzel was the top scorer on the day for NWU with a 4-over 76 to post the fourth best round. Nate Jaeger and E.J. Hamilton each were one

back with 77, while Geoff Oliphant rounded out the scoring with an 80. Kyle Jaacks was the fifth NWU golfer and shot 82.

Hamilton was the highest individual placer for the Prairie Wolves. He was tied for first heading into the final round, but his 77 gave him a 13-over four day total of 300 to finish as the runner-up.

Justin Zebolsky from Midland Lutheran was the individual medalist at +9 (296).

Two other NWU golfers finished in the top 10 and will earn All-GPAC honors for the season. Hanzel earned his second straight All-GPAC recognition by finishing in a tie for 8th place overall. Hanzel tied with teammate Nate Jaeger who also had a four day total of 307 (+20).

Jaacks was the only other NWU golfer to play four rounds and he finished in a tie for 19th place.

Nebraska Wesleyan will now wait to see if they qualify for the NCAA III National Championships that will be held in Port St. Lucia, Florida on May 11-15.