McLean County Times

Illinois State University men's golfers Valentin Peugnet and Alex McCulla have secured individual spots in the NCAA West Lafayette Regional. The event will be hosted by Purdue University at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex from May 13 to 15. The top five teams from this regional will advance to the NCAA Championship, along with the lowest-scoring individual not on those qualifying teams.

Illinois State is among three schools, alongside NC State and Pepperdine, with multiple individuals competing in an NCAA Regional field. This year marks the sixth time since 2016 that Illinois State has sent either an individual or a team to the regional tournament. Last season, their team placed 10th at the NCAA Bath Regional.

Historically, Illinois State's golfers have achieved several top-40 finishes at NCAA Regionals. Notably, Felix van Dijk finished 35th last season, while Trent Wallace secured seventh place during the 2017 NCAA West Regional in West Lafayette. Wallace's performance earned him a spot in the NCAA Championship held in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

Both McCulla and Peugnet have recorded season stroke averages of 71.3 over 32 rounds each. McCulla accumulated a total of 2,280 strokes and Peugnet closely followed with 2,281 strokes for the season. Peugnet had 21 rounds at or under par compared to McCulla's 20 such rounds. Peugnet also achieved two medalist finishes—the highest on the team—while McCulla tied for most top-10 finishes on the team with four.

Their stroke averages rank as second- and third-best in Illinois State men's golf history for a single season. Additionally, their rounds at or under par also rank them second and third for a season record.

Earlier this year, both golfers set records by carding single rounds of 199—the first ISU golfers to do so—breaking David Perkins' previous school record of 202 from the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. Each golfer also recorded a round of 64 during these performances, tying for the third-lowest round in school history.

For more information about Illinois State athletics and tickets, visit GoRedbirds.com or use the Illinois State Redbirds App.