NIACC men place sixth in opening fall tournament

GALESBURG, Ill. - The NIACC men's golf team placed sixth at the Carl Sandburg Classic with a 324 on Thursday at the Lake Braken Country Club.

Black Hawk College won the tournament with a 292 and the Black Hawk Junior Varsity was second with a 307.

NIACC was led by sophomore Ben Boerjan with a 36-40 - 76.

"Ben was solid (Thursday) even though his round included an eagle, some birdies, a quadruple bogey and various pars and bogeys," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said. "It was an adventure but he held it together overall."

Also for the Trojans, Austin Eckenrod with a 37-43 - 80, Matthew Heineman shot a 39-44 - 83; Zach Martin shot a 42-43 - 85 and Jackson Hamilin shot a 45-41 - 86.

NIACC's John Patterson shot a 44-47 - 91 playing as an individual.

 "I think the freshmen all came out a bit nervous," Frenz said, "but they settled into a rhythm eventually and we're looking at the positives instead of the negatives."

NIACC returns to action Friday at the Kewanee Dunes Classic in Kewanee, Ill.

"We'll face most of these same teams," Frenz said, "and hopefully we can bounce back strong. It's a learning curve in the fall."

Team standings - Black Hawk College 292, Black Hawk College JV 307, Carl Sandburg 312, Highland 312, Southeastern 316, NIACC 324, SW Tech 329, Illinois Valley 325, Sauk Valley 331, Madison 340.