WICHITA, Kan. – The Mid-America Christian University golf teams headed north to the NCCAA Central Regional Championships on Monday morning, taking to the Auburn Hills Golf Club in Wichita, Kansas for the event hosted by Central Christian College of Kansas. At the conclusion of the first day of play, the Evangels are very much in contention in every sense of the word.
The MACU men's team currently is in second place, just seven strokes behind the tournament leaders from Southwestern Christian University. Austin Davis, Jake Reddington, Isaac Maston, and Gage Gibson are all in the top-10 individually for the men, and Kirsten Westlake will spend the final 18 holes battling for a chance to qualify for the NCCAA National Championships individually on the women's side.
The men opened the Championship with a 36-hole day, and the Evangels were the only team to stay within striking distance of the Eagles through the first round. Reddington led the way for MACU individually, posting a 1-over par round of 73, which was one stroke off the pace set by Jose Perozo of SCU after 18 holes. Maston finished the opening 18 four strokes behind the leader in a tie for fourth, and Davis fired a 75 to place himself in a tie for seventh heading into the second round. Gibson (81) and Wyatt Bonds (97) rounded out the MACU scores from the opening round.
In the second round, Davis surged with a 73 to move him to within two shots of the second round leader, SCU's Jayden Jackson. Reddington dropped two spots with a second round 80, and Maston (7th) and Gibson (T-9th) both are also in the top-10 after rounds of 79 and 76, respectively. The Evangels lost one stroke to the Eagles in the second 18 of the day, but the Evangels remain very much in contention heading into the final round.
On the women's side, Southwestern Christian took a commanding 30 stroke lead as a team, which helped place MACU's Westlake in a position to battle for an individual qualification spot. The top individual finisher in the championship not associated with the championship team will also earn a trip to the NCCAA National Championship, and after 18 holes, Westlake is tied for that position. Westlake shot an 84, and she currently sits in a tie with Jessica Simants of York College. MACU's Hannah Price (96) is currently 12th after the first day's action.
Both the men's and women's championships will conclude with 18 holes on Tuesday.
