IC's James Earns Top-3 Medalist; Men's Golf Finish Fourth At Blueboy Invite

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois College men's golf team concluded the 2024 Blueboy Invite with the final round today at The Rail Golf Course. The Blueboys entered three separate teams in the tournament and earned fourth, tenth, and twelfth place finishes out of the field of 15 teams. IC's Jarrett James recorded his second-straight top-3 finish of the season with third-place overall medalist with a even-par tournament score of 144. 

As a collective team, IC had four student-athletes finished inside the top-20; James (3rd) with a score of 144, Samuel Frericks (T17) with a score of 149, Cole Bartels (T19) with a tournament score of 150, and Dane Huber (T19) with a two-day score of 150.

Day 1 Recap:

The Blueboys sent out three different teams that included 14 student-athletes. Pacing the lead team was junior James with a one-under paer 72 round. In his round, James recorded 13 pars, three birdies, and two bogeys. James tallied a one-under 35 front nine score that included back-to-back birdies on holes eight and nine where he added the other birdie on hole 15.

The reigning First-Team All-SLIAC selection in Bartels had a spectacular opening round and turned in a one-over par 73 score. In the round, Bartels recorded nine pars, four birdies, and five bogeys. On the front nine, Bartels earned birdies on holes one, four, six, and eight. 

Right behind Bartels in the group was senior Peter Hauser with a two-over par 74 round score. In his round, Hauser tallied 13 pars, two birdies, two bogeys, and a double-bogey. On the front nine, Hauser collected birdies on holes four and six.   

Rounding out the team scores for this group of five was Caden Tinsley and Huber with four-over par 76 scores each. The Mount Vernon native in Tinsley recorded 12 pars, one birdie, and five bogeys. Tinsley collected his lone birdie of the round on hole 15. The senior in Huber tallied 10 pars, three birdies, four bogeys, and a triple bogey. Huber parred five holes in-a-row that spanned from holes 11 through 16. 

As a team of five, these student-athletes combined for 57 pars, 13 birdies, and 18 bogeys and a team score of 294 in the opening round. 

The second of team of Blueboys that participated in the tournament included Frericks, Andrew McKillip, Ashton Sutton, Tobin Nell, and Devin Brown. Leading the way for this group in the opening round was Frericks with a two-over par 74 score. In his round, Frericks recorded 12 pars, three birdies, a bogey, and two double-bogeys. On the front nine holes, Frericks tallied seven straights par on holes one through seven and followed up with a birdie on hole eight. On the back nine, Frericks collected two birdies which were on holes 10 and 15. 

The second lowest score from this group was McKillip with a 10-over par 82 score that included nine pars, eight bogeys, and a double-bogey. One-shot behind McKillip was Nell with a 11-over par score of 83. In his round, Nell secured eight pars, six bogeys, and three double-bogeys. 
 
Finished two-shots below Nell was Sutton woth a 13-over par score of 85 that featured eight pars, one birdie, and four bogeys. Sutton recorded his lone birdie of the round on hole one. The final contributor to the team score of 324 was Brown with a 16-over par score of 88 that included seven pars and seven bogeys. 

As a team, these student-athletes tallied 44 pars, 27 bogeys, four birdies, and six double-bogeys for a team score of 324. 

The final team of Blueboys that participated in this tournament included Dylan Clark, Bryce Knackstedt, Emmitt Brokaw, and Isaac Anderson. Leading the way for this group was sophomore Clark with a five-over par score of 77 that included 12 pars, one birdie, and four bogeys. Clark tallied his lone birdie of the opening round on hole 13.

The second lowest score from this group was sophomore Knackstedt with a seven-over par score of 78. In his round, Knackstedt recorded eight pars, seven bogeys, two birdies, and a double-bogey. In the front nine, Knackstedt recorded both birdies which were on holes one and nine. 

First-year golfer in Brokaw finished two-shots behind Knackstedt with a nine-over par round of 81. In his opening round, Brokaw tallied 10 pars, four bogeys, two double-bogeys, and a birdie. On the scorecard, Brokaw recorded seven pars on the front nine which was followed up with a birdie on hole 12. Rounding out this group of four was Jacksonville native Anderson with a 15-over par score of 87 that featured eight pars and eight bogeys.

As a team, these student-athletes recorded 38 pars, 23 bogeys, and four birdies for a team score of 324. 

Day 2 Recap:

On the final round, IC was led by James with a one-over par score of 73 that earned a third-place individual medalist for the overall tournament. In his round, James recorded 11 pars, four bogeys, and three birdies. On the front nine, James tallied a even-par score of 36 that started off with a birdie on hole one. On the back nine, James fired a one-over par score of 37 that included birdies on holes 13 and 17. 

One-stroke behind James was Huber was a two-over par score of 74. In his final round, Huber collected 11 pars, three birdies, three bogeys, and a double-bogey. The three birdies Huber tallied were on holes three, 15, and 18. 

The next lowest score of this group was Bartels with a five-over par score of 77 that included 10 pars, five bogeys, and two birdies. In his final round, Bartels recorded back-to-back birdies on holes 17 and 18 that lead to a one-under par back score of 35. 

The Jonesboro, Illinois native in Hauser constructed a final round score of 80 that included nine pars and two birdies. In his round, Hauser collected his birdies on holes 11 and 13 that lead to a two-over back nine score of 38. Rounding out this group was Tinsley with a score of 89 that featured seven pars and six bogeys. 

As a group, these student-athletes recorded a total of 48 pars, 18 bogeys, and 10 birdies. For the tournament, this group of student-athletes earned a fourth place team finish with a tournament score of 598. 

The second team of Blueboys was paced by Frericks with a three-over par score of 75. In his round, Frericks recorded 13 pars, four bogeys, and one birdie on hole 17. Finishing behind Frericks in this group was Nell with a nine-over par score of 81. In his round, Nell collected eight pars, eight bogeys, and a birdie on hole 14. 

The Belleville, Illinois native in McKillip fired an 11-over par 83 final round that included nine bogeys, six pars, and two birdies on holes six and 10. Four-strokes after McKillip finished Sutton with a final round score of 87 that featured nine pars and six bogeys. Rounding out the team score of 326 was Brown with a final round score of 97 that featured 6 pars and four bogeys.  

The final team of Blueboys was led by Clark with a five-over par score of 77. In his round, Clark collected 11 pars, six bogeys, and a birdie on hole 11. Finishing four-strokes behind Clark was Knackstedt with a final round nine-over par score of 81 that included nine pars and a birdie on hole six. The Kewanee, Illinois native in Brokaw fired a final round score of 90 that featured six pars. The final student-athlete that contributed to a final day team score of 340 was Anderson as he recorded a final round score of 92.  

The Blueboys will have a week of preparation before traveling to Millikin University to participate in the two-day Take Back the Night Tournament starting on April 19 at noon in Decatur, Illinois.