McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's golf team has secured its 12th consecutive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship title, marking the 25th time in the program's history. The event took place at WeaverRidge Golf Course in Peoria, Illinois, concluding on Saturday, May 4. The Titans completed the tournament with a score of 17-under-par 847, surpassing their closest competitors by a significant margin of 48 strokes.

Bobby Beaubien, a fifth-year player from Barrington, Illinois, emerged as the individual champion. He became the 18th player from Illinois Wesleyan to earn medalist honors at this conference championship. This victory marks the third consecutive year that an IWU student-athlete has claimed this title, following Jimmy Morton in 2022 and Quinn Clifford last year. Beaubien's performance also earned him the title of Golfer of the Year for the conference.

Illinois Wesleyan dominated the leaderboard by taking all top-five positions among the 45 players competing. Michael Spitzer finished second with a total score of 212 after scoring two-under-par in his final round. Griffin Pohl came in third with a total score of 214, while Juney Bai and Quinn Clifford completed IWU's sweep by finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Throughout the three-day event, IWU led consistently with rounds of 285, 279, and finally a five-under-par round of 283. Their overall score is now recorded as the lowest ever for a CCIW tournament over three rounds. Carthage College secured second place with an overall score of 895 followed by Augustana College with a score of 900.

In addition to their athletic success, Juney Bai and Quinn Clifford were recognized for academic excellence with both receiving the Elite 26 Award for having high grade point averages among all-conference performers. Raj Sethi was honored with IWU's CCIW RESPECT Award while Jim Ott received recognition as Coach of the Year for his leadership throughout his career.

Looking ahead, Illinois Wesleyan will compete in the NCAA Division III Championship scheduled from May 14-17 in Las Vegas.