In their first season competing at the NJCAA Division II level, the Madison College golf team proved all year that they belonged with the region’s top programs, and that belief was solidified over three days at the 2024 NJCAA Region 4 Division II Tournament at PrairieView Golf Club. The WolfPack used a big 15-shot improvement over the first two rounds to catapult themselves to second place with a 54-hole total of 955 on Tuesday, with the top three finish qualifying them for the 2024 NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship in Joplin, Missouri. The trio of Peter Gustafson, Brent Schmiesing, and Brady Callmer earned All-Region 4 accolades as a result of placing in the Top 15.
Just two weeks after a second-place finish at the PrairieView Classic on the same course, Madison College did not start the postseason with their best rounds. The WolfPack finished Sunday’s opening 18 holes with a 332 and sat in fifth place. Monday’s Round 2 – also known as Moving Day for a three-day tournament – saw the Pack make a change to their starting five and regain their form for a 317 tally that moved them up to third place. The momentum kept going into Tuesday’s final round as Madison turned in the event’s second-lowest single-day team score of 306 to solidify their spot behind Region 4 champion Black Hawk College at 945. The WolfPack did narrow the gap to five strokes at one point during the last 18 holes before the Braves pulled away for their first region title since 2019. Oakton College was third at 958 and will join the other two at the national tournament.
Freshman Peter Gustafson, a Monticello, Wisconsin, native who joined the team after finishing his second year as a member of the Madison College men’s basketball team, improved every day en route to a tie for sixth place and Second Team All-Region 4. A rough back nine on Sunday put Gustafson at ten-over-par 82 and did the same again on Monday for a nine-over 81. The first-year player focused on Tuesday to generate four birdies and eight pars to shoot a plus-one 73 for a tournament total of 236 (+20).
Sophomore Brent Schmiesing, who was the Region 4 Division III medalist on the same course last spring to qualify for the NJCAA Division II Championships, followed a similar pattern with consecutive rounds of ten-over 82, failing to record a single birdie over 36 holes. The native of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, then strung together 11 pars and two birdies in Round 3 for a three-over 75 that moved him to 12th place at 239 (+23) to earn Third Team All-Region 4.
Brady Callmer, who recorded a hole-in-one at last year’s Region 4 Tournament, produced rounds of 83 (+11), 80 (+8), and 79 (+7) to reach a two-way tie for 14th at 242 (+26). The Edgerton, Wisconsin, produce also earned Third Team All-Region 4.
Freshman Alex Sutter was the fourth WolfPack player to play all three rounds and registered a tie for 25th overall with a 249 (+33). Sutter opened with an 85 (+13), but began to make his move on Monday with a two-over 38 on the front nine that momentarily moved him near the top ten. He went on to finish with an 81 (+9) and an 83 (+11).
The tournament’s biggest move came from sixth-year head coach Glenn Eichstedt between rounds on Sunday and Monday. After sophomore Braeden Skifton posted an 87 (+15) in Round 1, the WolfPack brought in substitute Joe Cranley, who, prior to the region tournament, had shot competitive rounds of 90 at the Highland Spring Invitational and 79 at the PrairieView Classic. The freshman from Madison, Wisconsin, responded in a big way, racking up five birdies and six pars on his way to a career-best three-over 75 that led the team on Monday. He followed it up Tuesday with a 79 (+7) that featured 13 pars, including seven in a row to start the round, and gave the Pack four sub-80 rounds on the final day.