Men's Golf Set for 2 Tournaments to Begin Fall Schedule
NNU golfer Conner Magnuson has already finished first at the NNU-College of Idaho dual in 2014.
NNU golfer Conner Magnuson has already finished first at the NNU-College of Idaho dual in 2014.
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Thursday, September 18, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore - The five GNAC men’s golf teams are preparing for the 2014 fall season, which starts this weekend.  

The conference as a whole will be traveling to the Olympia Golf and Country Club on Friday and Saturday to participate in the Saint Martin’s Invitational.

There isn't much time off before the next tournament as the GNAC teams will head up to Bellingham to compete at the Western Washington Invitational on Monday and Tuesday. This invite will be held at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club.

Simon Fraser was the team that fared the best at this event in 2013, finishing in third place out of 11 teams behind Bret Thompson's (Jr., Winnipeg, MB - St. Paul's HS) three-round score of 217. 

Five of the top 10 finishers in the WWU Invitational hailed from the GNAC. Graduated MSU Billings senior Brad Harrelson finished third with a three-round total of 212.  The top returning performer was Western Washington’s Jack Kelly (Jr., North Bend, WA – Mount Si HS) who ended two under par with a score of 214.

The GNAC will return a handful of talented golfers from the 2013-14 season, which saw two teams in the NCAA regional tournament and Simon Fraser participate in the NCAA Championships.

Returnees that joined Kelly on last year’s first-team GNAC list include Western Washington’s Chris Hatch (So., Mukilteo, WA - Kamiak HS) and Kyle Schrader (Sr., Olympia, WA - Biola), Simon Fraser’s Kevin Vigna (So., Coquitlam, BC), who also won the Freshman of the Year award, and Saint Martin’s Ryan Baumgart (So., Walla Walla, WA – DeSales Catholic HS).

This year, Northwest Nazarene has already hit the links at the NNU-College of Idaho duel. The Crusaders, who won the 2013-14 conference title, came out on top of the exhibition with the low score of 313 and finished with the top three performers.

The low round of the day belonged to last year’s second-team GNAC selection Connor Magnuson (Sr., Albany, OR – Linfield) who shot a 73, one stroke over par. Second was snagged by Michael Delie (Jr., Boise, ID – Mountain View HS) with a score of 78 and third was Keynan Fanslow (Jr., Tacoma, WA – Olympic CC) shooting a 79. 

The 2014 GNAC fall season will stretch into October before the 2015 spring season begins in February.

 

2014-15 Men’s Golf Team Capsules

 

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS Yellowjackets

Head Coach: Shawn O’Brien, MSUB ‘10

Assistants: Marcus Drange, Rhett Hightower

Top 5 Finishes 2013-14: Three (Rocky Mountain Invitational – 2nd; MSUB Spring Invitational – 1st; GNAC Championships – 5th)

2013-14 Top Performers: Gage Huft (Top 10 finishes – Four; Average round – 74.7, Low round - 70); Brad Harrelson (Top 10 finishes – Five; Average round – 75.7, Low round - 66); Austin Westphal (Top 10 finishes – Three; Average round – 75.8, Low round - 71)

Returnees: Tanner Berg (So., Billings, MT/Billings West HS); Houston Bradbury (Sr., Billings, MT/Skyview HS); Jake Hedge (Sr., Billings, MT/Wyoming); Gage Huft (Sr., Kimberly, ID/Kimberly HS, 2nd team GNAC); Austin Westphal (Sr., Kennewick, WA/North Idaho College, GNAC Newcomer of the Year)

Freshman/Transfers: Austin Berg (Fr., Billings, MT/Billings West HS); Parker Bradbury (Fr., Billings, MT/Skyview HS); Dalton Hagadone (Fr., Forsyth, MT/Forsyth HS); Dylan Meccage (Fr., Laurel, MT/Laurel HS); Connor Miele (So., Everett, WA/ Saint Martin’s); Ty Pickel (Fr., Ely, NV/White Pine HS)

 

NORTHWEST NAZARENE Crusaders

Head Coach: Craig Stensgaard, Northwest Nazarene ’92, 2013-14 co-Coach of the Year

Assistants: Chris Jensen, Scott Nicholes, Fred Sutton

Top 5 Finishes 2013-14: Two (Northwest Nazarene Invitational -1st; GNAC Championships – t-1st)

2013-14 Top Performers: Nick Hardy (Top 10 finishes – Five; Average round – 75.3, Low round - 68); Michael Delie (Top 10 finishes – Two; Average round – 76.0, Low round - 70); Connor Magnuson (Top 10 finishes – One; Average round – 76.1, Low round - 70)

Returnees: Ian Briske (R-So., Spanaway, WA/Bethel HS/Southwestern Oklahoma State); Michael Delie (Jr., Boise, ID/Mountain View HS); Connor Magnuson (Sr., Albany, OR/West Albany HS/Linfield, 2nd team GNAC); Justin McAfee (Sr.,Meridian, ID/Cole Valley Christian)

Freshman/Transfers: Keynan Fanslow (Jr., Tacoma, WA/Fife HS/Olympic CC); Kory Gaona (Fr., Nampa, ID/Nampa Christian HS); Wyatt Imhoff (Fr., Eugene, OR/Churchill HS); Taylor Judy (So. Boise, ID/Bishop Kelly HS/Westminster (UT); Jonathan Koenig (Fr., Nampa, ID/Nampa HS); Derek Thompson (Fr., Twin Falls, ID/ Twin Falls HS)

 

SAINT MARTIN’S Saints

Head Coach: Kevin Bishop, Seattle ’75, GNAC 2013-14 co-Coach of the Year

Assistants: John Eisentrout

Top 5 Finishes 2013-14: Three (Dennis Rose Invitational – 5th; Cal Baptist Invitational – 5th; GNAC Championships – t-1st)

2013-14 Top Performers: Patrick Whealdon (Top 10 finishes – One; Average round – 75.7, Low round - 71); Ryan Pickthorn (Top 10 finishes – Two; Average round – 75.8, Low round - 68); Ryan Baumgart (Top 10 finishes – Two; Average round – 76.0, Low round - 72)

Returnees: Ryan Baumgart (So., Walla Walla, WA/DeSales Catholic HS, 1st team GNAC); Kevin Cullen (Jr., Venice, CA/Venice HS); Jack Davis (Jr., Westlake Village, CA/Chaminade Prep); Ben Fosnick (Sr., Lakewood, WA/LakesHS); Ryan Pickthorn (Jr., Damascus, OR/Clackamas HS); Jared Rasmussen (R-Fr., Chehalis, WA/W.F. West HS); Austin Spicer (So., Gresham, OR/Gresham HS); Patrick Whealdon (Sr., Ilwaco, WA/Ilwaco HS, 2nd team GNAC)

Freshman/Transfers: Brodie Bordeaux (Fr., Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep); Matthew Hedges (Fr., Ashland, OR/Ashland HS); Andrew Raab (Fr., Yakima, WA/East Valley HS)

 

SIMON FRASER Clan

Head Coach: John Buchanan

Assistants: NA

Top 5 Finishes 2013-14: Four (Western Washington Invitational – 3rd; NDNU Argonaut Invitational – 2nd; Cal Baptist Invitational – 2nd; GNAC Championships – 3rd)

2013-14 Top Performers: Michael Belle (Top 10 finishes – Three; Average round – 74.4, Low round – 69); Kevin Vigna (Top 10 finishes – Three; Average round – 74.5, Low round – 67); Bret Thompson (Top 10 finishes – Three; Average round – 75.7, Low round – 67)

Returnees: John Mlikotic (Sr., Kelowna, BC/Imaculata Regional HS, 2nd team GNAC); Bret Thompson (Jr., Winnipeg, MB/St. Paul’s HS, 2nd team GNAC); Craig Titterington (So., Coquitlam, BC); Alan Tolusso (So., Burnaby, BC/St. Thomas More HS); Kevin Vigna (So., Coquitlam, BC, 1st team GNAC, Freshman of the Year)

Freshman/Transfers: Brayden Brown (Fr., Calgary, AB/Arkansas State); Marcus Brown (Fr., Surrey, BC/Semiahmoo HS); Michael Cann (Jr., Coquitlam, BC); Chris Crisologo (Fr., Richmond, BC/Vancouver College); Jordan Hutchings (Fr., Woodslee, ON/St. Anne HS); Tony Ko (Fr., Langley, BC)

 

WESTERN WASHINGTON Vikings

Head Coach: Luke Bennett, Western Washington ‘07

Assistants: Jake Koppenberg, Craig Welty

Top 5 Finishes 2013-14: Four (InterWest Wildcat Classic – 4th; Cal Baptist Invitational – 4th; Hanny Stanislaus Invite – 5th; GNAC Championships – 4th)

2013-14 Top Performers: Craig Crawford (Top 10 finishes – Two; Average round – 74.3, Low round – 66); Chris Hatch (Top 10 finishes – Two; Average round – 75.0, Low round – 67); Kyle Schrader (Top 10 finishes – Three; Average round – 75.3, Low round – 69)

Returnees: Anthony Allen (So., Arlington, WA/Arlington HS); Brennan Emory (So., Mt. Vernon, WA/Mt. Vernon HS); David Fonua (So., Seattle, WA/O’Dea HS); Chris Hatch (So., Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak HS, 1st team GNAC); Jack Kelly (Jr., North Bend, WA/Mt. Si HS); Kyle Lindor (So., Woodinville, WA/Woodinville HS); Willy Scholten (R-Fr., Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian); Kyle Schrader (Sr., Olympia, WA/Tumwater HS/Biola, 1st team GNAC); Mark Strickland (Sr., Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak HS, 2nd team GNAC)

Freshman/Transfers: Joe Fryer (Fr., Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak HS/Lee Westwood Golf School (England)); Brian Moon (Fr., Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak HS)
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