This week's Missouri Valley Conference golfers of the week include Grace Aromando of Bradley; Caleb VanArragon of Valparaiso; and Belmont's Jack Schoenberger.
Valparaiso's Caleb VanArragon began his final season of collegiate golf by capturing medalist honors in a 120-player field at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invite, hosted by Air Force at the par-72, 7541-yard Eisenhower Golf Course in USAFA, Colo. VanArragon turned in a 54-hole score of 203 (-13; 67-67-69), tying Anthony Delisanti's modern program record set at last year's MVC Championship for 54-hole tournament score in relation to par. He tied for the top spot before defeating Colorado State's Christoph Bleier on the first playoff hole for medalist honors. His effort helped Valpo tie for third in a 24-team field. Two other MVC teams (UNI and Missouri State) also competed in the event. UNI's Griffin Parker took fourth place individually with an overall score of 210 (-6) through three rounds of play carding a 70 (-2), 71(-1), and 69 (-3). On his second hole of the opening round, Griffin holed out from 198 yards with a 9 iron for an albatross, "double eagle", on hole 11 par 5. Missouri State closed out its season opener with a flurry on Tuesday, shooting a season-best four-under-par 284 in the final round to finish 12th in the field of 24 teams. After a shaky opening round Sunday, the Bears made a remarkable comeback the final two days, jumping from 23rd to 18th to its final spot at 12th. The final-round rebound was headed by senior Hampus Wijkstrom, who fired a 68 and finished 29th in the tournament in his MSU debut after transferring from Augusta. The Saltsjobaden, Sweden native shot 79-71-68--218.
Sophomore Jack Schoenberger of Belmont earned medalist honors in a 75-golfer field at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational, played at Guyan Golf and Country Club (Par-71, 6,523 yards). Schoenberger fired a three-round 68-64-68=200. His score of 200 is tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score for Belmont in its Division I era. His second-round 64 is also tied for the second-lowest in the Division I era. Earning his first career individual title, he becomes the ninth different Bruin to win an individual title. Belmont, meanwhile, won the team title with a school record 54-hole mark of 824. It marks back-to-back team titles for just the second time in the Division I era. Meanwhile, Murray State's Brady Haake and Trey Lewis shared honors as the Racers' top finishers as they shared 34th place with a 216 total. Lewis carded his low round of the event in the final round with a 70 and Haake was a model of consistency when he made 14 pars in the final round as he played his first event as a Racer.
Also, three MVC schools competed last week in the ANF Fall Classic hosted by Iowa at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course (Par 72) in Riverside, Iowa Sept. 5-6. Iowa State earned the team title with a three-round 860, while Drake (6th, 879), Southern Illinois (7th, 880), and UNI (10th, 896) represented the MVC at the event. SIU sophomore Edouard Cereto finished tied for third in his first event as a Saluki. His final-round score of 68 was the second-best score of the day. His overall total of 208 (-8) is the 13th-best 54-hole score in school history. Drake's Emil Riegger also had an amazing collegiate debut as he finished fifth in the individual standings (72-70-72—214, -2). UNI's Griffin Parker finished in a tie for 26th place with a 222.
Notably, Evansville competed at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, and Michael Ikejiani earned a top-15 finish. Sunday's final round at Delaware Country Club saw Ikejiani record an even 70. His best round of the weekend put him in a tie for the 13th position in the final individual standings with a 220.
Seven MVC women's programs competed in the ISU Redbird Invitational in Normal, Ill. Grace Aromando and Bradley women's golf shattered records at the Redbird Invitational, culminating in the first individual championship for the Braves since 2021 and the first team championship for the Braves since 2017. This is the 19th team championship for the Braves since the program's inception in 1989 and its first since Bradley won the Bradley Spring Invitational on April 1-2, 2017. This is also Bradley's first Redbird Invitational win since 2000, which was the second-ever team championship for the Braves. The Braves shot a program-best 54-hole score of 865 (+1), clearing the previous low score record of 876, set at the Cardinal Classic on Sept. 18-19, 2017. The Braves' lowest score at Weibring Golf Club prior to this tournament was 888, set in the 2019-20 season.
Individually, senior Grace Aromando won her first career Division I individual championship. This is the first individual championship won by a Brave since Taylor Ledwein won the Jan Weaver Invitational in Murray, Ky., on April 9-10, 2021. Aromando took her first career championship in historic fashion, shooting scores of 67 in rounds one and two before sealing the championship with a program-best-tying, career-best low score of 66 in round three. Finishing with a staggering -16, Aromando took first place by four strokes over second place Jinyoung Yun of Illinois State and 15 strokes over third place Isabelle Lynch of St. Thomas. Aromando's 54-hole score of 200 surpasses the old Bradley record of 212, set by Danielle Lemek twice during the 2013-14 season.
Two league teams (Missouri State and Southern Illinois) competed in the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial earlier this week. Missouri State senior Kayla Pfitzner posted a top 10 finish and fellow senior Johanna Wollenhaupt finished in the top 20 as the duo paced the MSU women's golf team in its season opener. As a team, the Bears slid from fourth to seventh in Tuesday's (Sept. 12) final round of the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial at Rivercut Golf Course, posting a 306 after shooting 292-293 in Monday's opening 36 holes for 891 for the tournament. Pfitzner placed fifth in the tournament, firing 72-73-70--215, one-under-par, while Wollenhaupt carded 72-74-74--220 to finish 17th. Southern Illinois finished 14th as a team with a score of 942 (+78). The top finisher for SIU was Janie Samattiyadeekul, who started the tournament with a strong opening round score of 72 and finished the event tied for 20th on the individual board at 221 (+5).