GNAC Golf

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings men's golf team will make its last road trip of the fall season next week to compete in the Sierra Central Wildcat Classic hosted by Chico State University.
 
The tournament is scheduled for 36 holes on Monday, October 14 with a final round of 18 set for Tuesday, October 15 on a par-72, 1000-yard layout of Butte Creek Country Club.
 
The MSUB men's team last played at the Concordia Invite, October 6-8 and finished 8^th in a 14 team field. It was the best finish of the fall for the 'Jackets, and they will look to build on that performance as they near the end of the fall season.
 
"Our men are coming off of our best team performance of the season at the Concordia Invitational last week", said head coach Jeff Allen. "The guys are in a good place with their games both physically and mentally so I expect them to play well and keep taking steps in the right direction. This is another great West Region event so our guys are motivated to play well against a good field on a good golf course."
 
Junior Caleb Trost was the top finisher for MSUB, as he tied for 8th place with a three-round total of 214 (73-70-71). Trost took 14 strokes off his finish from 2018 (228) and finished with a personal course best of -1 (70) in round two. Providing consistent play, Trost's +1 finish is his third consecutive tournament finishing one-off of par. Trost's final score of 217 is the best finish for any Yellowjacket player to play in the Concorida Invite in the last five years. He currently leads the team with a 73.4 round average playing in nine rounds of play.
 
"We have had some solid individual performances this fall from our upperclassmen," continued Allen. "Coming off of a great performance at the Concordia Invitational I look forward to Caleb Trost to continue his solid play. A top 10 finish in any West Region event is a great accomplishment. He has had a good fall for us so far and I look for him to continue that trend. The best part is Caleb knows he can play better, I look forward to that happening this week."
 
Garrett Woodin is second on the team averaging 74.8 strokes per round. He tied for 40^th in the Concordia invite with a three round score of 225 (75-74-76). The seniors best finish to this point came in the fall, came at the Saint Martin's Invitational where he tied for 34^th place with a three round score of 218 (74-72-72).
 
Riley Lawrence carries a scoring average of 75.9 per round, Payton Stott averages 76.0.  Both players tied for 50^th in the Concordia Invite shooting combined scores of 229. The senior Stott's best result also came in the SMU invite as he finished tied for 28^th with a 217 over three rounds (76-71-70).
 
"Our seniors Payton and Garrett have played good golf this fall and I know that they will get themselves ready for this event, they are both hitting the ball well," commented Allen. "It will just be a matter of getting a feel for the golf course and getting comfortable on the greens." Riley Lawrence is due to have a breakout performance for us, he has low score capability and has been close a couple of times this fall."
 
Paul O'Neil is averaging 77.8 per round through nine rounds with a 58th (233, 74-79-80) place finish in last week's Concordia Invitational. Logan Martin is the other Yellowjacket to post a scoring average which is currently at 77.7 through three rounds of play.
 
Riley Kaercher will be seeing his first action in the Sierra Central Wildcat Classic. The junior from Billings, Montana played in nine event last season and 25 total rounds. He averaged 79.7 strokes per round and produced the lowest single round of any MSUB player last season when he shot a 68 at the Rocky Mountain College Invitational. 
 
"Riley Kaercher will be making his first appearance this fall season but has been playing some solid golf in qualifying, has a lot of tournament experience and deserves a shot to contribute to this team," concluded Allen".

Live stats can be found at msubsports.com

This week's event is the final road trip as both the MSUB men and women's teams will close out the fall playing in Billings, MT. The Women will be playing in the Leslie Spalding Cup and the men in the Mike Grob Cup hosted by Lake Hills Golf Club and Peter Yegan Golf Course.