VALDOSTA, Ga. – After starting the year with zero returning rounds of golf, the Central Arkansas men's golf team finished off a miraculous run on Thursday, claiming the program's first ASUN Championship. The Bears closed out the tournament in nailbiting fashion, going hole for hole with Stetson to clinch a one-stroke win, icing it on 18 with a par by Noah Blaickner.
 
Blaickner, who finished second in the individual standings, had a tough front nine, sitting 5-over on the day at the turn. But the junior was able to regroup, sinking an eagle on 11 to spur a clean back half, and two birdies down the stretch helped lift him back to the top. He dueled with the eventual individual titlist from Stetson the entire way, and from 14 on, snuck ahead by two strokes to carry the Bears home. Blaickner finished the tournament eight strokes under par, a masterclass three days to earn the highest mark in an ASUN Championship since Central Arkansas joined the league.
 
Jack Wilson finished sixth after putting together a third-round score of 73. The Texas native continued to dominate the par fives, as he did the entire championship, scoring 8-under on the long holes. On holes 550 yards or longer, he had six birdies and an eagle, zero bogeys. He finished the championship at a 6-under 222.
 
Kalle Svederman put together his best round of the championship on Thursday, dicing up the course for a third-day score of 67. It was one of just four rounds across all 180 rounds of golf played this week that had that low of a score, and the Bears needed every one of his six birdies on the day. He sank five of them in a six-hole stretch, with four-straight from 6-9, and the fifth on 11. His 67 lifted him back into the top-20, and he ended the championship in 19^th.
 
Bogdan Sandrini played his way to a 1-over 73 on Thursday, three birdies on the day to carry his score to a 1-under 215. He would finish the week with 12 birdies, the 16^th-most in the tournament. Vukasin Suturovic shot a 78 on Thursday, and finished 31^st after rounding out an even 216. Suturovic played a masterful first two rounds, playing back-to-back 69s to set himself up no matter what Thursday's round looked like.
 
The Bears bring home their first conference championship in 53 years, last winning the AIC Championship in 1972, just three years after man walked on the moon. Central Arkansas did so with a final score of 838, the third-lowest three-round score in program history.
 
Central Arkansas will now prep for the NCAA Tournament. The Bears will start at a regional, with locations to be determined on April 30^th. For complete stats and standings, visit the tournament page.