The Black Hawk College men’s golf team wrapped up the 2021-22 school year with a trip to the 2022 NJCAA Division II Golf Championship at Twin Hills Country Club in Joplin, MO.
BHC golfers competed against 19 teams from Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee and Texas. The Braves made the cut for the Top 12 teams and finished 11th overall, only four strokes behind the 10th place finishers.
“The team overall played well and I’m super proud of these guys. They worked extremely hard this spring in some of the worst spring weather ever,” said third-year head coach Butch Haverland.
“The final day of the tournament was the worst weather, and we played our best in 30 mph winds. I believe the spring schedule we played helped us in the long run,” he said.
Freshman Luke Lofgren tied for 23rd out of more than 130 golfers and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. All-American honors are presented to the top 26 finishers (plus ties) at the championship.
The Braves’ team consisted of brothers and Sherrard High School grads Ethan and Evan Earl; Alleman High School grads Luke Lofgren and Austin Shoemaker; and Moline grad Sam Spurgetis.
“These guys worked hard with school, travel and COVID, and they persevered to an extremely good showing at the National Championship,” Haverland said.
The Braves qualified for Nationals in October when the team took second place at the 2021 Region 4 Division II (Midwest District) Men’s Golf Tournament. At that tournament, Luke Lofgren was named to the All-Region First Team and Ethan Earl was named to the All-Region Third Team.