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Montcalm Community College’s (MCC) golf team wrapped up an exciting first season with a tie for first place at the NJCAA Region XII Championships.

The Invitational was held at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek on May 13 and 14. The competition consisted of 54 holes, with 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday, with the course par held at 72.

The first day of competition consisted of the Centurions competing in two rounds of 18. At the conclusion of day one, MCC was tied for first place with Grand Rapids Community College. After the first round of 18, the Centurions finished with a team score of 323. After round one concluded, the golfers headed into the second round of 18. The Centurions finished the second round with a team score of 321, pushing them back to being tied for third place at the conclusion of day one.  

Heading into day two, the team came together surpassing Oakland Community College and Muskegon Community College, to reclaim their place at the top with Grand Rapids Community College.

Assistant Coach Zack Gascoyne noted how proud he was of the team and the way they finished.

“The team came back in the final day from 11 strokes back to make this happen. For a first-year program to do what we just did, just shows the countless hours these student-athletes spent on their game,” Gascoyne said.

The Centurions tied their program best in the third and final round with the lowest team score during the tournament, 308, and finishing with a 952 three-round series.  

Ryan Clingenpeel noted how exciting not only the tournament was, but the season as a whole.

“Playing for MCC this season has been an absolute blast,” Clingenpeel said. “Even though I just met these guys, this team feels more like family. Even though we knew coming in that we weren’t eligible to compete at Nationals this year due to being a first-year member to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), our goal was to come in first at the NJCAA Region XII Championships. Through a lot of hard work, that’s exactly what we did. The experience we gained is invaluable and we will benefit from it moving forward.”

Lucas Hirkaway was happy to finish the season on a high note.

“As a brand-new program, nobody expected us to win the regional...we’ve proven the doubters wrong by demonstrating that even as a first-year team, we can compete and win matches,” Hirkaway said.

Ethan Johnson led the team at Regionals, tying for seventh overall with a 233 individual score after three rounds. Zach Johnson took ninth with 234, Jerald Brownell took 18^th with a 239, Ryan Clingenpeel tied for 26th place with a 246, and Lucas Hirkaway took 52^nd with a 285. As a team, the Centurions led the competition with the most birdies (24) and Ethan Johnson tied for first with the most individual birdies (9). Leading the team in pars was Jerald Brownell with 29 total through both rounds. 

The NJCAA Region XII Championships marks the conclusion to the 2023-2024 golf season, but the Centurions are already looking forward to the fall where they will kick off the 2024-2025 golf season.

Zach Johnson said, “next year, I know our team is going to be great and I can’t wait to work on my game this summer and be back in action in the fall.” 

 Coach Dough Harkema was pleased with how the team performed during their first season.  

“First, I would like the thank our college and especially the athletic department for entrusting me to lead these young men as their golf coach,” Harkema said. “Everything that has happened over the last two years has been by design at every level of this organization.

“Today was a culmination of what I have done with my teams throughout my coaching career. We try to create an environment that allows student athletes to compete at their best,” he said.

Media inquiries, please contact:

Shelly Springborn
Director of Communications and Public Relations
shellys@montcalm.edu
989-560-0833