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For Immediate Release
May 18, 2007
NWU MEN EARN FOURTH CONSECUTIVE TOP 10 FINISH
Aaron Stockton (Sr., Bellevue, Neb., Platteview
High School) was his steady self in leading Nebraska Wesleyan University
to its fourth Top 10 finish in a row at the NCAA Division III Men’s
Golf Championships.
The Prairie Wolves tied Carthage College for 10th
place with 1,247 total strokes and showed consistency with rounds
of 312, 314, 310 and 311. St. John’s University (Minn.) won
with 1,204.
Stockton, who shot +14 (302) for the tournament,
never had anything worse than a bogey at Nationals again this season,
to duplicate his feat from 2006, when NWU won its first NCAA team
title in school history. This year, he tied for seventh individually
and earned All-America honors for the third consecutive season.
“The courses were really tough, and we didn’t
play to our potential, but I was happy with the way we finished,”
Stockton said.
Regarding his knack at staying out of trouble on
the course, Stockton said, “Being able to play for four years
has given me the experience I needed to stay mentally tough. It’s
just something I learned over time.”
Nebraska Wesleyan’s Tyler Lawson (Jr., McCook,
Neb., McCook High School) tied for 26th at +22 (310), while Nate
Jaeger (Fr., Lexington, Neb., Lexington High School) tied for 52nd
at +27 (315). Phil Hranac (Fr., Kearney, Neb., Kearney Catholic
High School) tied for 91st at +36 (324) and E.J. Hamilton (Fr.,
Omaha, Neb., Gross Catholic High School), who shot 77 in the final
round, placed 110th at +42 (330).
“This team had a great attitude and good chemistry,
so hopefully, that will lead to better things next year, with four
of our top five returning,” Nebraska Wesleyan Head Coach Brett
Balak. “We didn’t play like we thought we could, and
as a team we could have done better on damage control, but tied
for 10th is a great finish, especially considering three of our
five players were participating in their first national meet.”
NWU has placed in the top 10 at five of the last
six NCAA Div. III Championships, including: sixth (2002), eighth
(2004), fifth (2005), first (2006) and tied for 10th (2007).
For final individual results and team standings,
click
here.
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