The Red Raider Men’s Golf team kicked off its spring season with a second-place finish (out of the seven teams) at the Briar Cliff-Morningside Invite.
Senior Neil Malenke received the win after shooting a 70 on the day.
Northwestern finished with a score of 310, just one stroke behind Morningside. Along with Melenke’s strong day, senior Ryan Kiewiet finished fourth with a 77, and sophomore Ryan Christy finished tied for eighth with an 81.
Senior Kyle Stanek finished tied for 10th with an 82, and senior Jordan Oltman finished tied for 15th with an 85.
“It was pretty neat having everyone play well after not competing for a while,” Christy said. “It was good to get back out there and see how we compared to other teams in conference.”
Although the tally between NW and Morningside was very close, Dordt finished a distant third with a 338 mark.
Morningside had two junior varsity teams, and NW had one competiting as well. The second line of Mustangs and Raiders finished within 11 strokes of each other.
“It was really crazy being out there with the other golfers,” sophomore Andrew Minor said. “Those guys are really good and just being able to play with them was a great accomplishment on its own.”
The men will compete and play host in the Northwestern College Spring Invite at noon on Tuesday, April 8.