MORAVIA — The Statesmen men’s golf team wrapped up its 2023-2024 season with a respectable showing at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Monday and Tuesday.
WPU tied for seventh out of 11 teams with a three-round score of 892 (294-303-295) at the par-72 Preserve Golf Course.
MidAmerica Nazarene (-18, 284-281-281–846) held off Park (-17, 282-284-281–847) by one stroke to claim the team title and qualify for the NAIA National Championship later this month.
Park’s Guillermo Cervantes will join MNU at nationals as an individual qualifier, winning the medalist honor at seven-under-par 209 (68-72-69).
Andon Herrera (Fr., Katy, Texas, Business Management) guided the navy and gold in a tie for 17th at 218 (73-73-72). His week included 36 pars and eight birdies, while the freshman finished high in the standings in par-three scoring (+2) and par-four scoring (+1).
Luke Galeazzi (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Business Management) was next in a tie for 31st at 226 (79-74-73), including 36 pars and five birdies.
Austin Hafner (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Sports Management), at 74-78-75–227, and Trace White (Sr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Physical Education (K-12)), at 72-80-75–227, closed out their careers by tying for 33rd. Hafner, who recorded 10 birdies with 26 pars, was -5 on par-five holes, while White (+2 on par-four holes) had 28 pars and nine birdies.
Francois Assaud (Jr., Montelimar, France, Sports Management) rounded out the lineup in a tie for 42nd at 234 (75-78-81). The junior managed 24 pars, eight birdies, and was -3 in par-five scoring.
“First off, thank you to our three seniors Austin Hafner, Trace White, and Jonathan Jarvis for their dedication to the program during their time here,” Head Coach Elise Warne said. “Our goal was to send the boys off on a high and compete as hard as we could at the conference tournament. We did our best to do that and really showed that we can compete, just as we have in many other moments throughout this year.”
“It gave me great confidence to see the streaks that we had throughout the tournament,” Warne added. “We prepared as well as we could and gave it a good crack. Ultimately, it was a great event where we were able to visualize what the future has to offer in players such as Andon Herrera, Luke Galeazzi, and Francois Assaud, while also appreciating what our seniors have contributed to the team. We are hungry to continue to improve next year and reflect on the progress that we made this year.”
