Thursday, March 10, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Northwest Nazarene may have been the host of Monday and Tuesday’s tournament, but Montana State Billings stole the show.

The Yellowjackets were the top GNAC performers at the NNU Nighthawks Invitational at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, California, finishing in third place with a 36-hole team score of 12-over-par 588. They were one stroke behind second-place Cal State San Bernardino and six strokes ahead of fourth-place Simon Fraser. Northwest Nazarene tied for eighth while Saint Martin’s placed 10th.

In addition, MSUB placed three individual golfers in the tournament’s top 20. Senior Riley Kaercher was part of a group to tie for third place at even-par 144, shooting a 1-under-par 71 on day one. Fellow seniors Caleb Trost and Riley Lawrence finished tied for 12th and 19th, respectively.

Simon Fraser was buoyed to its fourth-place finish by freshman Ryan Hodgins, who finished tied for seventh at 1-over-par 145, and sophomore Michael Crisologo, who finished tied for 12th with Trost and others at 3-over-par 147. Hodgins’ showing continues a red-hot start to his first collegiate spring season, as he also finished tied for second in The Joust at Goose Creek Golf Club in Jurupa, California on Feb. 21-22 by shooting a 2-over-par 215 over 54 holes.

Four GNAC golfers carded an under-par round at the Poppy Ridge Invitational, one from each competing program: Kaercher, Hodgins, Northwest Nazarene’s Cole Evarts and Saint Martin’s Max Turnquist.

Western Washington’s Aidan Thain has been racking up under-par performances as well. The Vikings were the only GNAC team not in attendance at Poppy Ridge, but Thain was on fire in WWU’s two February tournaments. The junior finished tied for seventh at the Fujikura Invite on Feb. 14-15 and tied for fifth at the Bay Area Invitational on Feb. 21-22, shooting even or under par on both occasions. Western Washington finished third as a team in both tournaments.

Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser will be in action this upcoming week at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Alameda, California on Monday and Tuesday. Montana State Billings, Saint Martin’s, Simon Fraser and Western Washington will be at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational in Turlock, California on Mar. 28-29.

PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS

NNU Poppy Ridge Invitational (Poppy Ridge Golf Course, Livermore, Calif.): Team - 1, Cal State East Bay, 583. 2, Cal State San Bernardino, 587. 3, MSU Billings, 588. 4, Simon Fraser, 594. T-8, Northwest Nazarene, 607. 10, Saint Martin’s, 609. Individual - 1, Keita Okada, Hawaii Pacific, 138. 2, Fraser Owenson, Cal State East Bay, 141. T-3, Riley Kaercher, MSU Billings, 144. T-7, Ryan Hodgins, Simon Fraser, 145. T-12, Michael Crisologo, Simon Fraser, 147. T-12, Caleb Trost, MSU Billings, 147. T-19, Riley Lawrence, MSU Billings, 148. T-22, Dennis Geissler, Saint Martin’s, 149. T-22, Grayson Giboney, Northwest Nazarene, 149. T-22, Lane Strand, Northwest Nazarene, 149. T-22, Dawson Strobel, MSU Billings, 149. 28, Cole Evarts, Northwest Nazarene, 150.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings took a strong podium finish at the Poppy Ridge Invitational, finishing third with a 36-hole team score of 12-over-par 588, one stroke behind second-place Cal State San Bernardino and six strokes ahead of fourth-place Simon Fraser. The Yellowjackets led the tournament by a stroke at the halfway mark after shooting a team 296 on day one but slipped to third on the final day despite improving by four strokes to 292 as a team.
• Senior Riley Kaercher matched the MSUB program with an individual third-place finish, as he was among four golfers to tie for third at even-par 144. Kaercher shot a 1-under-par 71 on day one, which had him tied for second on the leaderboard, and a 1-over-par 73 on day two.
• Caleb Trost, Riley Lawrence and Dawson Strobel all achieved low rounds of even-par 72. Trost hit his 72 on the first day and finished tied for 12th at 3-over-par 147, while Lawrence and Strobel rallied to card their 72s on the final day. Lawrence finished tied for 19th at 4-over-par 148 while Strobel tied for 22nd at 5-over-par 149. Sophomore Kevin Kolb rounded out MSUB’s five with a 158, carding a low round of 77 on day two.
• Back on Feb. 7-8, Montana State Billings was the first GNAC team to compete in the spring season with an 11th-place showing at the Houston Classic at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas. The Yellowjackets posted a 54-hole team score of 929, two strokes behind Missouri-St. Louis. Trost led the way individually, tying for 24th with a 10-over-par 226.
• Montana State Billings will compete next at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational in Turlock, California on Mar. 28-29.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene kicked off its spring season by hosting the NNU Poppy Ridge Invitational in Livermore, California, where the Nighthawks finished with a 36-hole team score of 607. The Nighthawks tied for eighth with Hawaii Pacific and were two strokes behind seventh-place Cal State Monterey Bay.
• Northwest Nazarene’s efforts were led by sophomores Grayson Giboney and Lane Strand, who tied for 22nd at 5-over-par 149. Giboney and Strand had identical cards, shooting a 75 on the first day and a 74 on the second. Unfortunately for the Nighthawks, Strand was competing as an individual, so his showing did not reflect on NNU’s team score.
• Sophomore Cole Evarts and senior Tyler Joplin both rescued solid showings with great rounds on the final day. Evarts improved on day two by eight strokes to a 1-under-par 71, finishing in 28th with a 6-over-par 150. Joplin also improved by eight strokes from day one to day two, closing out the tournament with an even-par 72 to tie for 35th at 8-over-par 152.
• As a team, Northwest Nazarene improved by 23 strokes and six places in the standings from day one to day two.
• Northwest Nazarene will be in action next at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Alameda, California on Monday and Tuesday. They will play the role of host again at the Northwest Nazarene Invitational in Nampa on Mar. 28-29.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• Saint Martin’s finished in 10th at the Poppy Ridge Invite with a 36-hole team score of 609, two strokes behind Hawaii Pacific and Northwest Nazarene and seven strokes ahead of 11th-place Cal State San Marcos.
• Senior Dennis Geissler led the way, tying for 22nd with a 5-over-par 149. Geissler started off the tournament with his low round of 73.
• Seniors Tyler Fitchett and Max Turnquist each finished at 7-over-par 151 and tied for 29th, but took vastly different roads to get there. Fitchett was consistent, carding a 76 followed by a 75. Turnquist shot an 80 on day one but stormed back with a 1-under-par 71 on the final day, the best round by a Saint Martin’s player.
• Saint Martin’s began the spring season at the Bay Area Invitational at the Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, California, from Feb. 21-22. The Saints finished tied for ninth place as a team with a 54-hole score of 909, two ahead of Colorado Mesa and six behind eighth-place Dominican (Calif.). Fitchett performed well, tying for 12th with a 4-over-par 220 that featured a low round of 1-under-par 71 over the first 18 holes. Turnquist had the next-strongest showing, carding a 226.
• The Saints will next compete at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational in Turlock, California from Mar. 28-29.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser finished fourth at the Poppy Ridge Invitational with a 36-hole team score of 594. The team finished six strokes behind MSU Billings and five ahead of fifth-place Stanislaus State.
• Freshman Ryan Hodgins notched SFU’s highest finish with a 1-over-par 145, tying for seventh. Hodgins carded a round of 1-under-par 71 to charge further up the leaderboard on day two. Michael Crisologo provided SFU with a second top-15 finish. The sophomore carded a 3-over-par 147 with a low round of 73 to finish tied for 12th.
• The other Simon Fraser golfers were clustered together. Freshman Bailey Bjornson finished at 8-over-par 152 with a low round of 74. Freshman Josh Bowder, competing as an individual, and junior Ryan Stolys were two strokes back at 154 with freshman Kyle Mayner a further stroke back at 155.
• Simon Fraser teed off the spring season on Feb. 21-22 at The Joust at the Goose Creek Golf Club in Jurupa, California, and Hodgins was again the star. Simon Fraser finished 13th as a team, but Hodgins had a shot at winning the individual title, leading after 36 holes but eventually finishing tied for second with a 54-hole score of 2-over-par 215. Hodgins hit a low round of 1-under-par 70 and shot even-par 71 over the first 18 holes. No other SFU golfer finished in the top 60.
• Simon Fraser will take part in the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout this Monday and Tuesday in Alameda, California, before joining three other GNAC programs at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational in Turlock, California on Mar. 28-29.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington did not compete this past week but previously began the spring season on a high note with two team podium finishes. At the CSUSM Fujikura Invite at the Shadowridge Country Club in Vista, California from Feb. 14-15, the Vikings finished third with a 54-hole team score of 876, seven strokes behind second-place CSU Pueblo and 12 strokes ahead of fourth. At the Bay Area Invitational at the Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, California from Feb. 21-22, WWU finished tied for third with a 54-hole team score of 886, level with Cal State East Bay and three strokes behind second-place Sonoma State.
• Senior Aidan Thain led the Vikings in both tournaments. At the Fujikura Invite, Thain carded a 1-under-par 215 to finish tied for seventh, finishing strongly with a 4-under-par 68 and a 1-under-par 71. At the Bay Area Invitational, Thain finished at even-par 216, led by a round of 2-under-par 70 in the first 18 holes.
• Western Washington wouldn’t have achieved two podium finishes without clutch rounds throughout the Vikings line-up. At Fujikura, WWU received top-15 finishes from senior Devin Andrews and junior Jordan Lee. Andrews finished tied for 13th at 1-over-par 217 with a low round of 71. Lee finished in 15th, a stroke back at 218, with a low round of 69.
• The two reversed order at the Bay Area Invitational, with Lee finishing tied for 12th after carding a 4-over-par 220 and Andrews slotted into 16th place a stroke behind at 221. Thain, Lee and Andrews all shot low rounds of 70 over the first 18 holes.
• Western Washington will have a competition layoff of over a month before they hit the links at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational in Turlock, California from Mar. 28-29.