PHOENIX, Ariz.- For the second consecutive season, the Rocky Men's and Women's Golf teams secured conference championships behind individual victories from Kristjan Burkelca and Grace Metcalf at Papago Golf Course. 

For the Rocky men, the win marks their second consecutive conference victory and their seventh team title since 2018. As for the Battlin' Bear women, the win marks their fifth title in a row. 

Men's Final Results

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Kristjan Burkelca held onto his seven-stroke lead heading into the final round, winning his second consecutive conference title with an overall score of four-under-par 212 (76, 65, 71). Finishing the competition with a field-high 14 birdies and a field-low eight bogeys, Burkelca won the competition by three strokes and ended nine strokes ahead of the leading non-Rocky golfer. 

Freshman Sam Norman stood out in his first conference championship appearance, finishing second overall with a total score of one-under-par 215 (69, 76, 70), totaling the best round of the day on Wednesday at two-under-par 60, and also recorded the best score in round one at three-under-par 69. 

Senior Aidan McDonagh finished tied for fourth overall with a score of six-over-par 222 (72, 75, 75), while Nathan Piers followed tied for sixth overall with a score of nine-over-par 225 (70, 74, 81) to round out Rocky's scorers, with Adam Hyde-Lay finishing tied for 25th overall with a score of 24-over-par 240 (77, 82, 81). 

A complete team effort saw the Battlin' Bears take the team title by 22 strokes over Bellevue University, totaling a team score of ten-over-par 874 (287, 290, 297). Rocky totaled the most birdies (41), eagles (4), and tied for the most pars (159) as a team among the field, leading them to another conference title. 

Team Standings (Final)

1. Rocky Mountain College (+10)
2. Bellevue University (+32)
3. Mayville State (+65)
4. Dickinson State (+68)
5. Montana Tech (+81)
6. Carroll College (+90)
7. Valley City State (+111)
8. Providence (+119)

Women's Final Results

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The defending individual champion, Grace Metcalf, entered the third and final round trailing by two strokes individually, but stormed ahead on Wednesday to win the conference championship tournament by three strokes as the only golfer on the women's side to shoot sub-80 in round three. The senior finished with a final score of 23-over-par 239 (80, 81, 78), totaling 33 pars, the most of anyone in the field. 

While Metcalf made a statement in the final round, a complete team effort saw the Rocky women turn in a dominating 30-stroke victory, as all five competing Battlin' Bears finished inside the top-15 individually. 

Tyla Potgieter (82, 83, 80) and Alivia Webinger (81, 82, 82) tied for fourth overall with scores of 29-over-par 245. Potgieter had the top scoring average on par 3s of the field (+4), while Webinger tied for the second-best scoring average on par 5s (+2). 

Rounding out the Battlin' Bear competitors were Catalina Garcia (85, 89, 84) and Kirsten Smith (83, 88, 87), who tied for 13th overall with total scores of 42-over-par 258. 

The Rocky women took an 18-stroke lead after round one and never let up, finishing with a 30-stroke victory to secure their fifth straight conference title. 

Team Standings (Final)

1. Rocky Mountain College (+120)
2. Bellevue University (+150)
3. Montana Tech (+162)
4. Carroll College (+173)
5. Dickinson State (+181)
6. Mayville State (+466)
7. Providence (+485)
8. Valley City State (No Team Score)

Up Next

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The Battlin' Bears have earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships following their conference titles in Arizona. The NAIA Men's Golf National Championships begin May 12th at TPC Deere Run, while the NAIA Women's Golf National Championships begin May 19th at Eagle Crest GC.