Fresh off Easter weekend, the Thunder men’s golf team was back on the green this past Monday at the Elmhurst College Spring Invite. The Thunder’s seven-over-par score of 295 — only one shot behind first place Millikin — earned them a second place finish in the 11-team field.
Junior Adam Eaton and sophomore Drew Engelking led the team with identical rounds of 72 to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place. Junior Luke Grogger’s finish of 74 also earned him top-10 honors with a three-way tie for eighth place. Senior Richard Moomjian tallied 77 to tie for 16th and junior Micah Dworak finished 36th with an 82. Freshman Joshua Chung tallied a 78, freshman Jabe Gonder with a 79 and freshman Luke Meyer with an 87.
The next morning the team traveled to Kenosha, Wis. to compete at the Carthage Spring Invitational. The Thunder continued right from where they left off as they finished third out of 12 teams – behind second place Elmhurst College by only four shots.
Wheaton had two players finish top 10 individually – Grogger with an even-par score of 72 to finish second (only one stroke behind first place Matt Lynch of Carthage College) and Eaton with a 75 to tie for tenth place. Senior Robby Bowles tied for twenty-fifth place shooting a 79. Engelking put up 83 and Dworak with an 86.
The Thunder’s second place finish in the Elmhurst College Spring Invite is a major improvement from their sixth place finish last year showing that the team is in good position as they prepare to compete for the conference title. Up next for the Thunder is Millikin’s “Weist Foundation Classic” on Friday.
“The team is really coming together ahead of conference,” said senior Robby Bowles. “Different people are stepping up and shooting some good scores. Look for Micah Dworak to go low down the stretch.”