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Inniger Earns Medalist Honors as Spartan Men Qualify for National Tournament

By Craig Olson, 10/09/19, 9:30AM CDT

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The M State Spartan Men’s golf team won the Region XIII National Qualifier on Tuesday with a two-day score of 642 (314-328).  M State’s Grant Inniger was the medalist with a 159 (76-83).


PHOTO PROVIDED

“It was an extremely tough day for scoring with the wind blowing all over, but our young men did what they needed to do after playing very well in round one,” said Head Coach Jason Retzlaff.  “I am very proud of this group and their efforts this fall.  Competing at the National Tournament as a team is such a memorable experience and I’m thrilled this team has earned a chance to compete with the best next June.  I can’t say enough about the quality of young men on this team.”

Medalist honors went down to the wire between Inniger, M State’s Wyatt Blomseth who shot a 160 (77-83) and Southwest Tech’s Mike MacKinnon who also recorded a 160 (79-81).  Southwest Tech took second place in the team competition with a score of 699 (349-350).

“Congrats to Grant Inniger on earning medalist honors,” added Retzlaff.  “He continues to improve and took his game to another level.  The quality of shots he hit consistently over the last two days was very impressive.  It will be fun to see him get a crack at Chautauqua in June.”

The Spartans’ Carter Justesen carded the low round of Tuesday with a 79 on a course that turned much more difficult on day two with winds up to 30 miles per hour.  Justesen had a two day total of 166 (87-79).

Rounding out the Spartan scoring were Trevor Dalbec with a 165 (82-83) and John Vall with a 165 (79-86).

It is the ninth consecutive year the Spartan men have qualified for the national tournament.  This is the longest running streak in NJCAA Division III golf.  The NJCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship will be from June 2-5, 2020 at Chautauqua Golf Club in Chautauqua, New York.  The Spartans won the championship in 2012 and have finished third in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

On the women’s side, Lexi Poyzer shot a 201 (98-103) and Carley Baumann a 219 (112-107) for the Spartans.

“Lexi and Carley had a very nice two days and did a fantastic job representing our golf program this fall,” noted Retzlaff.  “They are both very good players and high character student-athletes.  We are very thankful that they are playing such a big role in reigniting our women’s golf program.”