Next Stop - MIAC Championship Meet

LE SUEUR, Minn. (9/26/23)---Concordia capped off its pre-MIAC Championship Meet schedule by finishing seventh at the 3-day Twin Cities Classic.

The Cobbers posted a 3-round total of 897. CC opened with a 303 on Day 1 at Elk River CC and then fired a 290 at the Links at Northfork on Sunday. The final round saw the Cobbers come home with a 304 at the LeSueur CC.

There were two pieces of good news for Concordia over the weekend. The first bright spot was the 290 on Day 2, the lowest single-round team total of the season. The 290 is also the lowest score for the Cobbers since the 2020-21 season when they put up a 280 on the second round of the MIAC Championship Meet. The second feel-good item was that the total of 897 was 50 shots better than they carded at the same tournament last year.      

Sophomore Gabe Benson led Concordia for the fourth time in 2023. He posted a total of 220, which was good for a tie for 12th place and four shots better than any other CC golfer. Benson's best round came on Sunday when he fired a 2-under 70 at the Links at Northfork. It's the third time this season he has carded a 70. Benson continues to lead Concordia in scoring in 2023. He has a 72.7 average over his 13 rounds.

Freshman Jack Hanson, played as an individual at the meet, fired the second-lowest score over the weekend. He opened with a 79, dropped that by eighth shots to card a 71 on Sunday and then finished with a 74. His total of 224 was good for a tie for 24th place. Hanson's middle-round score of 71 tied his season-best single-round score, which came at the Jamestown Invite.

Sam Henke and Mason Plante tied for the scoring team's No.2 and No.3 spots. Henke went 76-72-78 to record his 226, while Plante had a score line of 76-72-78. Their identical totals of 226 earned them a place in the Top 30 of the tournament's individual standings.

Landon Olson and Jayce Johnson were the other two Cobbers on the scoring squad. Olson opened with an 80 but then bettered that score on the final two days. He came through with a 73 on Day 2 and a 76 on Monday. His 73 was his best score of the season, and his 3-day total of 229 is 12 shots better than his score at last year's Twin Cities Classic.           

Johnson was one shot behind Olson at 230 with scores of 78, 75 and 77.

Ryan Jenson and Justin Lamp also played in the meet for Concordia as the team looks to solidify its lineup for the conference meet. Jenson also had a total of 230 (78-76-76), while Lamp went 81-78-74 to come home with 233.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have a week to prepare for the conference meet. The Cobbers will compete at the MIAC Championship Meet on Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Rush Creek GC in Maple Grove.