Prairie Fire claim South Division title

Monday, April 30, 2007

GALESBURG - Ryan Meier, David Marquardt and John Hawkinson finished first, second and third, respectively, as Knox College won the Midwest Conference South Division Tournament by 17 strokes Sunday at Soangetaha Country Club.

Meier shot a one-over-par 145 to earn individual medalist honors at the two-day tournament. He opened with a two-over 74 as Illinois College hosted the opening round Saturday.

Back at Soangetaha, the Prairie Fire's home course, Sunday, Meier fired a one-under 71. He edged teammate Marquardt, who shot a 149 (75-74). Knox finished one-two-three as Hawkinson carded a 152 (75-77) for third place. The three helped Knox shoot a 605 (304-301) to win the team tournament by 17 strokes.

Nolan Scanlon shot a 159 (80-79), Bryce Goodman finished with a 172 (84-88) and Arjun Rao added a 181 (91-90) for the Prairie Fire.

Monmouth College finished in second place with a 622 (311-311). Grinnell (330-325-655) and Illinois College (347-349-696) rounded out the field.

Knox College's Mark Janicik (86-81-167), Solomon Williams (88-81-169), Jake Marcet (88-91-179) and Brad Middleton (92-106-198) played as individuals.

Knox will next compete at the MWC championships, playing for an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The three-day MWC tourney will be played starting Thursday at Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford

Knox has won 19 of the last 25 MWC team titles, including the 2006 championship. This is the first year the MWC champion will gain an automatic berth into the national tournament.

Meier was the individual medalist in the 2004 and 2005 MWC Championships, while Knox College's Mack Foster won the tournament last year.