UCO wins MIAA Championship, Baldwin is named Player of Year

Complete results

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Central Oklahoma won its fourth MIAA Men’s Golf Championship Wednesday, earning the title after 54 holes of play at Jefferson City Country Club.

The Bronchos won the team title with a 7-under-par 857, posting rounds of 291-282-284 this week in Missouri. UCO bested runner-up Central Missouri by four shots. The Mules went 293-283-285 for a 54-hole 861. Arkansas Fort Smith (864), Fort Hays State (871), and Washburn and Missouri Southern (878) rounded out the top five.

“Really proud of these guys for their work this week,” UCO head men’s golf coach Derrick Thompson said. “It was a wild start with weather and delays, but once we got out there, the guys were great. They really focused on the task at hand and got the job done. Just really proud of them and now we’re looking forward to the next one.”

The fourth-year head coach of the Bronchos, Thompson won his first MIAA title. UCO also won titles in 2013, 2016, and 2017.

The NCAA Division II Regional Championships are next for UCO. The Central and Midwest Regions meet up in St. Joseph, Missouri May 8-10.

Central Oklahoma won the title on Wednesday at Jefferson City Country Club with four counting scores all in the Top 16 spots on the individual leaderboard.

Baylor Bostick finished third, Bennett Baldwin finished fifth, Nick Canales finished 13th, and Jordan Wilson finished 16th. Karsten Paciotti was also in the lineup and finished 22nd. Dylan Henderson played as an individual and eligible substitute, and he finished 33rd.

Bostick earned a third-place finish with a 4-under-par 212 this week. After rounds of 72 and 68 on Tuesday, the sophomore from Duncan finished the tournament with another even-par 72 on Wednesday. Bostick had a bogey and an eagle on the front nine to make the turn at 1-under. He sank two birdie putts on the back nine, where he was 1-over, to finish the day even.

Baldwin, who was named MIAA Golfer of the Year following the tournament, posted a 3-under 213 for the tournament. He shot rounds of 73 and 68 on Tuesday and like Bostick, shot an even-par 72 on the final day. Baldwin had three birdies on the front nine and was 1-under at the turn. He had two more birdies on the back nine.

Canales finished the 54-hole event with a 1-over-par 217. He shot rounds of 73-74-70, with his 2-under in the final round leading the way for the Bronchos. Canales parred each of the first five holes, then responded to a bogey on No. 6 with back-to-back birdies and another par to make the turn at 1-under. He played the first four on the back nine 2-under and added one more birdie, on the Par 3 17th, before a bogey on his final hole put him at 2-under for the day.

Wilson shot a 2-over-par 218 this week. He was dominant on the front nine Wednesday, sinking seven par putts with birdies on No. 2 and No. 7. Wilson did sink two more birdie putts on the back nine but had four bogeys and finished his final round with an even-par 72.

Paciotti, who shot a 220 (77-73-70), was on his game in the final round. After a 6-over-par day through 36 holes on Tuesday, Paciotti joined Canales with the low-round on the team Wednesday. He started the day with a bogey on No. 1, a birdie on No. 2, and another bogey on No. 3. Then he played the next 10 holes 4-under. Paciotti sank six birdie putts on the day.

Henderson finished 8-over 224 for the championship. He shot back-to-back 2-over 74s on Tuesday and a 4-over 76 on Wednesday.

With the win at the MIAA Championships, Central Oklahoma secured the league’s automatic qualification into the Regional Championship next month. UCO was already the No. 1 ranked team in the Central Region.

Regionals are scheduled for May 8-10 at St. Joseph Country Club. The NCAA National Championships are scheduled for May 19-23 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Northeastern State finished seventh in the tournament and Rogers State University placed 11th.

Senior Parker Rose recorded his second consecutive top-10 finish to lead NSU. Rose carded a 2-under-par 215 (72-73-70) to finish in a tie for eighth place.

Despite posting an under-par team round, Northeastern State remained in seventh place overall, finishing with an 879 (296-296-287), just two strokes behind fifth place.

Brett Wilcoxen finished 22nd with a 220 (73-73-74), while Will Livermore eagled the second hole and shot a 1-under-par 71 on Wednesday to tie for 33rd at 224 (77-76-71). Bliss Newton also finished at 224 (77-76-71), placing 28th.

Juan Vergel rounded out the RiverHawks’ scores with a 229 (75-78-76).

Northeastern State led the field with 189 pars but tied for last in birdies with 26. Wilcoxen led all players with 43 pars.

Rogers State finished in 11th with a card of 912 (+48).

“Despite our finish in the tournament, this was a good trip,” said head coach Steve Brown. “All of our players are great young men and it’s a pleasure to be in their company. Sometimes we get so caught up in the competitiveness of it all, that we forget that these are student athletes. It’s easy to look at this season and say it was not successful, but we had two wins, we had some great individual play, and we learned a lot about each other. Our team had the our highest GPA ever and it was great to see our men also succeed in the classroom.”

Eliot-han Monteremal led the way for RSU in a four-way tie for 16th after shooting a 218 (+3), which earned him All-MIAA Honors. In the second round yesterday, Monteremal fired a magnificent 70 (-2), which featured four birdies.

Callum Brown finished in 27th, with a card of 221 (+5). Tyler Collier placed 56th, with a final score of 235 (19). Kaden Armstrong finished in a three-way tie for 60th with a posting of 243 (+27.), Miguel Mora finished in 65th place, with a 252 (+36) and Pedro Benjumea finished in a two-way tie for 63rd, with a card of 245 (+29).

RSU will now wait to see if it has done enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Central/Midwest Super Regional Tournament, which will be announced on Friday, April 25th. Should RSU qualify, the tournament will be played on Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10th at St. Joseph Country Club in St. Joseph, Mo.

2024-25 MIAA POSTSEASON AWARDS & ALL-MIAA TEAM

MIAA Golfer of the Year: Bennett Baldwin, Central Oklahoma
MIAA Freshman of the Year: Lawson Barks, Central Missouri

ALL-MIAA SELECTIONS:
Bennett Baldwin – Central Oklahoma, Sr. 
Jordan Wilson – Central Oklahoma, Sr.
Baylor Bostick – Central Oklahoma, Sr. 
Blake Saffell – Washburn, Jr.
Cooper Scheck – Fort Hays State, Jr.
Chandler Cooke – Arkansas-Fort Smith, So.
Jeremy Tandoy – Arkansas-Fort Smith, Sr.
Cole Streck – Fort Hays State, Sr.
Aiden Asby – Missouri Western, Jr.
CJ Phillips – Central Missouri, So.
Nicholas Canales – Central Oklahoma, So.
Jeffery Johnston – Missouri Western, Sr.
Charlie Townsend – Newman, Jr.
Elliot Han Monteremal – Rogers State, Gr. 
Quinn Earwood – Washburn, So.