MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Carthage men's golf team placed second of eight at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship event this Saturday afternoon. The Firebirds totalled 887 over three rounds of play on the par 71, 6759 Brown Deer Park Course, trailing 27 strokes behind winner Illinois Wesleyan in first. 

This was the first event this year that the team posted three sub-300 rounds in the same tournament, shooting 292 and 298 in the opening rounds and 297 today.

Of the ten all-conference honors given at the event, four spots were earned by Carthage, the most of any team. Seniors Tyler Muschewske, Austin Young, and Zachary Shawhan as well as freshman Alex Lilly received their awards for finishing among the top ten on the individual leaderboard today. 

Zachary Shawhan was also awarded the CCIW Elite 25 Award, which is given to the All-CCIW player with the highest GPA. Shawhan has earned a cumulative 4.0 over his career at Carthage.

Senior Kevin Healy was the recipient of the CCIW Respect Award, given to a key member of their team and athletic community by upholding the values of responsibility, enthusiasm, service, pride, excellence, collaboration, and trust. 

Muschewske and Young finished the tournament in a fifth-place tie, shooting 223 (+10) over three rounds of golf. Shawhan and Lilly followed one stroke behind at 224 (+11) and tied for seventh. Healy rounded out the Firebird scorecard with 234 (+21) and an 18th-place tie.

Head Coach Jay Christiansen:

"Finishing 2nd wasn't our goal, but when you get beat by the two time defending National champs, you know you got beat by the best.
 
We came into the tournament playing really well, and feeling confident that if anyone could pull off the upset, it was us. We really were proud of the work we put in during the fall and the spring up and down the roster, we were led by a strong group of seniors, and we wanted the challenge. Unfortunately Wesleyan was just as ready as we were, and they were not to be denied. Once again they are gonna represent the CCIW with a ton of confidence down in Orlando, and don't be surprised if they contend for the title once again.
 
On the 10 member CCIW All-Conference team, four spots were grabbed by Firebirds. To finish 2nd but yet place four on the All-Conference Team is a testament to our depth, and obviously the quality of our players. Wow! That just doesn't happen! We didn't pull off the ultimate upset, but dang, we played our butts off."

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Leaderboard

CCIW CHAMPIONSHIP
Milwaukee, Wis.
Brown Deer Park
April 29 - 30

Teams
1. IWU - 284 | 289 | 287 / 860
2. Carthage - 292 | 298 | 297 / 887
3. NPU - 307 | 300 | 301 / 908

Carthage
T5. Austin Young - 72 | 78 | 73 / 223
T5. Tyler Muschewske - 74 | 76 | 73 / 223
T7. Alex Lilly - 75 | 75 | 74 / 224
T7. Zachary Shawhan - 71 | 76 | 77 / 224
T18. Kevin Healy - 81 | 71 | 82 / 234