After coming off a fantastic season that led to an appearance in the NAIA National Championship, the Red Raider men’s golf team has been continuing that momentum from last year into their fall season. The Raiders started the season off with a second-place finish in the Midland Invite on Sept. 2 and were able to take it a step further this past Thursday and Friday, taking home the Siouxland Invite championship for the third year in a row.
In the first round of the invite, the Raiders were able to shoot 285 as a team, putting them 6 strokes ahead of Morningside and in sole possession of first going into the final round. Senior Justin Kraft and freshman Isaac Knock and Jake Olsen all shot even at 71 in the first round, putting them in a five-way tie for third place as individuals. Junior Austin Reitz finished round one with 72 strokes through 18 holes, and senior Evan Schuler finished with 75 strokes.
The final round of the Siouxland Invite was much of the same for the Red Raiders. As a team, the Raiders were able to shoot a season high of 281, increasing their stroke lead over Morningside by 1 and firmly securing first place. Kraft continued his dominance from the first round, shooting a 70 through 18 holes and finishing tied for second place individually. Schuler had an impressive final round, shooting a 69 and finishing in 7th place.
With a championship under their belt, the Red Raiders are feeling positive and looking forward to what the rest of the fall season will hold. “We want to play well in our next few invites to be at our peak going into the conference tournament,” Reitz said. “As long as we play well going into conference we will be feeling pretty good.”
The Raiders will look to continue their great start to the season at the Blue River Classic on September 19 and 20.
