TULSA, Okla. – History was made on two different fronts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the 22nd Annual NSU Women’s Classic in regards to the Henderson State women’s golf program and the NSU Classic in its 22 year entirety.

Henderson’s Gracen Blount broke the NSU Classic all-time record low with a first-place score of 7-under 137, seeing her second tournament victory of the season.

The Reddies as a team shattered the previous team record for a par 72 event of 21-over 597, shooting a two-round score of even-par 576 to win the NSU Classic at The Club at Indian Springs.

Blount made her own HSU history, shooting the lowest round in HSU history with a 5-under 67. This comes less than a week out from teammate Allie Bianchi tying the lowest round in program history with a 3-under 69.

After carding a 2-over 290 on day one, HSU flipped the script with a 2-under 286 through the final 18 holes. In addition to obliterating the previously held team record for a total event, the Reddies also claimed their best team single round in program history with the sub-par round.

Blount registered six birdies in the second round and nine birdies for the entire tournament. As a team, HSU hit 13 birdies and one eagle on the final day of competition.

The junior from Hot Springs, Arkansas, also submitted the lowest event total ever recorded at Henderson with her 36-hole score of 7-under 137, giving her the first-place nod for the second tournament in a row.

Daphney Tilton saw her highest finish as a Reddie, finishing as runner-up with a 3-under 141. Until Blount delivered her historic performance, Tilton’s 3-under event total was the lowest par 72 total in two rounds of action.

Allie Bianchi tied the field with the second-best round of the day at 1-under 71, moving up 14 spots to take a tie for sixth with a 3-over 147. The Lovejoy High School product delivered the only eagle of the tournament, holing out in two on the par 4 fifth hole of the second 18.

Hannah Choi and Kathleen Escobar rounded out the Reddie golfers, coming in a tie for 27th and tie for 30th with an 8-over 152 and a 9-over 153, respectively.

First year head coach Colton Cowan is now 2-0 as the point man of the Henderson State women’s golf program, having won last week’s Central Region Fall Preview. Next up for the Reddies is the UCO Classic in Edmond, Oklahoma, on Oct. 4-5.

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NORMAN, Okla. – A few short months after guiding his Wonder Boys golf team to their first-ever National Championship, it is finally official that Luke Calcatera is the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year as it was announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Wednesday that he is the recipient of the 2021 Dave Williams Award, presented by Golf Pride Grips.

A finalist for the award in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Calcatera and his Wonder Boys team put together a dominant 2021 season that culminated in the historic National Championship.

During the 2021 season, the Wonder Boys took part in seven regular season tournaments, finishing in the top-five in each tournament and winning three. In post-season play, the Wonder Boys were equally as dominant beginning with a 13-stroke margin of victory in the GAC Championship Tournament to capture their second-straight conference title. At the regional, the Wonder Boys finished third to qualify for their fourth-straight National Championship Tournament.

In each of their previous three trips to the national tournament, the Wonder Boys advanced to medal match play. This year was no different in that regard, but the Wonder Boys did exceed prior achievements as they finished second overall in stroke play to earn their highest seed ever in medal match play.

In their quarterfinal round match, Calcatera and the Wonder Boys took down Central Region Champion, Central Missouri to advance to the program’s second-ever semifinal round. In that round, the Wonder Boys were paired up with perennial powerhouse West Florida, who had spent much of the year as the No. 1-ranked team according to Golfstat.

The Wonder Boys, who at that point had rose to the No. 4-national ranking according to GolfStat, were unfazed by facing the Argonauts and exacted a bit of revenge as they were swept by West Florida in the quarterfinal match back in 2019. In 2021, the Wonder Boys were in position to return the favor with a sweep, but UWF managed to win a match and draw another to make the overall team match appear close, 3-1-1.

The overall dominant performance in the semifinals propelled the Wonder Boys into their title match with Georgia Southwestern.

Fitting for a National Championship match, the overall team match was not decided until the very end and came down to the final individual match and the final two holes, of which Calcatera and the Wonder Boys would emerge victorious.

In addition to the team achievements on the course in 2021, Calcatera and his lineup of golfers racked up individual honors from the conference level to the national level. At the conference level, Calcatera won his fifth GAC Coach of the Year while all five golfers earned all-conference honors. At the regional level, four of the five golfers earned all-region honors and at the national level, the Wonder Boys had four earn All-America honors as well.

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ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State Athletics has announced the hiring of Colton Cowan as the new head coach of the Reddies men’s and women’s golf programs.

Cowan, who comes to HSU following a two-year stint as the women’s golf assistant coach at NCAA Division I Austin Peay State, was selected after a national search and will replace Forrest Schultz, who recently departed for Troy University.

“After a thorough search that extended across our region and nationally, it became very clear that Colton was the right fit to lead the Reddie Golf programs,” Director of Athletics Shawn Jones said. “Colton brings tremendous collegiate coaching experience at both the Division I level and inside the Great American Conference, but what struck me most about him was his passion for the game, his care for his student-athletes and his infectious positive energy that I know he will bring to work every day. He is well suited to continue the rich tradition of the Reddie Golf programs and I look forward to everyone getting to know Colton and his wife Chrystal, as they are outstanding additions to the Reddie Athletics family.”

A native of Piedmont, Oklahoma, Cowan spent five seasons as both a player and assistant coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State prior to his time at Austin Peay. Cowan was a three-year letter winner for the Bulldogs from 2014-17 and served as SWOSU’s graduate assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams until 2019.

“I am incredibly humbled and excited to be the head coach of Reddie Golf,” Cowan said. “To be given the opportunity to lead a program as accomplished and poised for future success as Henderson State is a true blessing. I am privileged to be the next in line to direct this phenomenal program and I cannot wait to get started.”

During his two seasons at SWOSU, Cowan helped the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs each secure two appearances in the NCAA Central Regional Tournament and led the women’s team to a berth in the 2019 NCAA National Finals. At the 2019 NCAA DII Championships, SWOSU advanced to medal match play before eventually bowing out in the national semifinals. In Cowan’s tenure, Southwestern Oklahoma State produced six Academic All-Americans and two WGCA All-Region players in Gloria Choi and Elin Wahlin.

At Austin Peay State, Cowan was part of a staff that guided the Lady Governors to seven Top-5 team finishes from 2019 to 2021. APSU took sixth at the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and was the recipient of the 2021 OVC Team Sportsmanship award.

“Colton Cowan is an excellent choice to lead the Henderson State golf programs,” Troy University head coach and former Henderson State head coach Forrest Schultz said. “I have known Colton for many years as both a player and a coach, and he is as good a person and teacher of the game of golf as they come. I know he will make a tremendous positive impact and continue the success the program has enjoyed.”

Cowan will officially begin his duties at Henderson State on July 19.

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When Arkansas Tech University’s Andre Jacobs stepped to the 17th tee at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Friday afternoon, he carried on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of a process that was set into motion three quarters of a century earlier.

It began when Sam Hindsman made the decision to leave Arkansas State Teachers College to join the physical education faculty and coaching staff at rival Arkansas Tech in 1947. A few years later, he recruited a 6-foot-7 two-sport star out of Waldron named Don Sevier to play football and basketball for the Wonder Boys.

Thirty years after his graduation from Tech, Sevier was in the role of director of athletics when the position of ATU head men’s basketball coach came open. Sevier selected Marty Barnes, and he brought with him an assistant coach named Dave Falconer.

Falconer added the duties of head men’s golf coach at Arkansas Tech in 1989. He led the Wonder Boys to four Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference titles (1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995), three berths in the NAIA National Tournament (1993, 1994 and 1995), the 2004 Gulf South Conference championship and seven appearances in NCAA Division II postseason competition (1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010).

Each of these men came within an eyelash of delivering the ultimate prize in college athletics — a national championship — to Arkansas Tech.

Hindsman was the coach and Sevier was a player when the Wonder Boys basketball program made back-to-back appearances in the NAIA National Tournament semifinals in 1954 and 1955.

Sevier was there again, as an assistant coach alongside head coach Don Dempsey, when Arkansas Tech’s 1971 football team finished as the NAIA national runner-up.

Barnes and Falconer led the Wonder Boys basketball program back to the NAIA National Tournament semifinals in 1995.

But as Jacobs arrived at the penultimate hole of the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships on Friday, no men’s team from Arkansas Tech had ever climbed to the pinnacle and it had been almost 30 years since the Golden Suns basketball program earned the only two national championships in school history.

The match between Jacobs and Georgia Southwestern’s Jaxson Daskalos was tied. The other four matches were already decided, and they had been split two wins for each side. The fifth and final match would determine the national champion.

Jacobs was more than equal to the weight of the moment.

He birdied the par-3 17th hole while Daskalos made bogey, providing Jacobs with a two-stroke lead going to the final hole. He held on to win by a single stroke, and the hopes and dreams of Hindsman, Sevier, Dempsey, Barnes, Falconer and so many other coaches, student-athletes, students, alumni and fans finally came true.

The Wonder Boys were national champions.

They were led there by a direct descendant of the coaching tree outlined above. In 2003, Falconer recruited a slender left-hander from McKinney, Texas, to play for the Wonder Boys. Luke Calcatera earned four letters and was a member of ATU’s 2004 GSC championship team.

After Falconer passed away on June 11, 2011, Calcatera was chosen as his successor.

Now, almost exactly 10 years later, the circle is complete. The ultimate goal has been achieved. And I’m sitting in my kitchen, 1,200 miles from the trophy presentation, living vicariously through the text messages from our interim director of athletics, Abby Davis, and fighting back tears of joy as I type all this. Fight On, Arkansas Tech. We did it.

THE NATIONAL CHAMPION WONDER BOYS

Santiago De La Fuente, Freshman, Mexico City, Mexico
Henry Frizzell, Freshman, Frisco, Texas
Austin Gean, Senior, Florence, Ala.
Andre Jacobs, Sophomore, League City, Texas
Francois Jacobs, Sophomore, League City, Texas
Trevor Brunson, Sophomore, Lowell, Ark.

Luke Calcatera, Head Coach
Adam Anderson, Volunteer Assistant Coach

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SEARCY – Harding golfers Jake Croshaw and Gregor MacIntosh received Division II Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar honor last week. They were two of 99 Division II golfers to receive the award.

To be eligible, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior, have a stroke average of 78.0 or lower and have a cumulative GPA or 3.20 or higher.

Croshaw, of Loughborough, England, averaged 75.1 strokes per round in 18 rounds as a sophomore. He is an accounting major with a 3.38 GPA.

MacIntosh, a native of Crawley, England, averaged 73.1 strokes in 18 rounds as a senior. He graduated in May with a 3.84 GPA, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in sport and recreation management.

MacIntosh became the fourth Harding player to earn the award twice, joining Lucas Collins (2013 and 2014), Mason Banger (2017, 2018) and Juan Luis Sanchez (2017, 2018).

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MAGNOLIA – Southern Arkansas Golfers Roman Timmerman and Brendan Little have been named Division II PING All-Central Region performers as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) via social media in late April. Despite a spring championship season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both players were in the midst of impressive campaigns.

The all-region nod is the second-straight for Timmerman after the junior was tabbed to the team following the Muleriders’ record-breaking 2018-19 season. For Little, he becomes the first freshman in the SAU’s Division II Era (1995-96) to be named an all-region performer and the second to earn the honor under current head coach Ben Sanders.

Timmerman, a native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, earned a pair of Great American Conference Golfer of the Week honors (9/11, 3/11) this past season and both came as a result of him claiming a pair of individual titles in 2019-20. Timmerman won a scorecard playoff in the team’s first tournament of the season at the GAC Preview to lead SAU to the team title and in what became the team’s final action of the spring, he notched a two-stroke win at SAU’s Arkansas Collegiate.

In 16 rounds over six tournaments, the Canadian posted the best single season average score of his career at 71.94 with 0.31 vs. par. His average score is currently a single-season best in the program’s Division II Era. In his first two seasons as a Mulerider, Timmerman scored in the 60s five times over 48 total rounds. However, in just the aforementioned 16 rounds this past season, he logged six scores in the 60s in addition to being on pace to top his 11 par or better rounds in 2018-19 as he had already managed nine such rounds in 2019-20.

He topped 85.7% of the competition he faced as a junior and finished as Golfstat’s No. 96 rated golfer overall in Division II and No. 14 in the Central Region. He recorded a team-leading 54 birdies and led the group in par-4 scoring at 4.0325.

For Little, his collegiate rookie campaign will go down as one of the best in the 25-year Division II history. A native of Benton, Arkansas, Little claimed the GAC’s Golfer of the Week award (2/12) following a second-place finish, the best of his young career, in his first action of the spring at the ten-team, 58-golfer Houston Classic.

In 13 rounds over five tournaments played in 2019-20, Little recorded an average score of 72.62 with a 0.85 vs. par. He posted a career-best round of 70 at the Holiday Inn Express Classic in October and finished with six rounds at par or better, while posting a team-leading finish percentage of 90.2% which is currently a single season program-best result in SAU’s DII Era.

Little notched 46 birdies as a freshman and led the team in par-3 scoring (3.1552) and par-5 scoring (4.7637). His 213 (-3) at the GAC Preview is the 14^th-best Low 54 hole total in SAU’s DII Era. Little finished the season ranked No. 86 overall in the DII Golfstat rankings and No. 10 among Central Region golfers.

Central Region
Blake Allen, Washburn
Andrew Beckler, Washburn
Tyler Beeck, Winona State
Edwin Blomander, Rogers State
Kason Cook, Southwestern Oklahoma State
Carlos Gomes, Northeastern State
Matt Hoemann, Central Missouri
Francois Jacobs, Arkansas Tech
Andre Jacobs, Arkansas Tech
Brendan Little, Southern Arkansas
Brady Madsen, Winona State
Blake Murray, Central Oklahoma
Luke Palmowski, Rogers State
Roman Timmerman, Southern Arkansas

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CABOT – The Hendrix women’s golf team opened the 2020 spring season Monday by taking part in the Natural State Golf Classic in Cabot, Ark.

After shooting 81 in the opening round, Stephanie Leake carded a second round of 77 to break her own school record. Leake finished the two-round event with a 158 and finished tied for fifth place which was the best on the team. Peyton Penny shot rounds of 130 and 120 in the event.

The Warriors will head to Maumelle, Ark. to take part in the Central Baptist College Invitational Mar. 16 and 17 before taking part in the SAA Championships Apr. 24 from Dickson, Tenn.

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HOT SPRINGS — Henderson State won four of its five matches on Tuesday against St. Edward’s to defeat the Hilltoppers, 4-1, and win the Battle for the Belt for the second-straight season.

The Reddies had three players shoot even-par or better in the win. Nick Shapiro had the best round of the day by any single player with a 4-under 68 to defeat Carlos Tercero of St. Edwards, who shot 78. Mitchell Ford edged the Hilltopper’s Andrew Zobal, who shot 74, with a 1-under 71, while Stuart Krog turned in a score of even-par 72 to outlast his opponent Jake Livermore, who shot 75.

Shapiro finished second overall as an individual at the tournament and finished 2-under par in three rounds of play. Jackson Cole and Ford each tied for sixth place, while Krog tied for eighth.

Henderson finished 2-0 in the medal match play-style format of the event with wins over Winona State and St. Edward’s.

The Battle for the Belt win concludes the fall schedule for the Reddies, who play next at the Newberry College Invitational in Kiawah Island, South Carolina on Feb. 17-18.

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HOT SPRINGS – Arkansas Tech won the second Great American Conference Men’s Golf Championship title in program history as the Wonder Boys shot an even-par 288 for the third-straight round to edge five-time GAC champion Henderson State by three shots on Tuesday from Hot Springs Country Club. Wonder Boy freshman Andre Jacobs earned the medalist honors with three-round total of 4-under par 212.

Trailing the Reddies by a shot after Monday’s 36-hole marathon, all five Wonder Boys turned in rounds of 75 or better. After opening his final round with back-to-back bogeys, Jacobs birdied four of his final 11 holes, including one on the par-5 18^th hole to win the individual title by one shot, besting Henderson State’s Trey DePriest.

Jacobs’ brother, Francois, registered Tech’s low round of the day, a 2-under 70 that featured six birdies to move him up to third place. Kellen Gray posted an even-par round and Austin Gean shot a 1-over 73.

DePriest paced the Reddies to a second-place showing. He posted the best par 4 scoring of the event, 3.90, and his 13 birdies ranked second for the week. Kevin Boutier finished in a tie for seventh; Cameron McRae shared 10^th and Nick Shapiro moved up 12 spots thanks to a final-round 2-under 70.

Southwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene maintained their third- and fourth-place standings. SWOSU’s Kason Cook finished tied for seventh while Heston Brown shot the low round of the day for the Bulldogs, a 2-over 74. JD Pitts posted the low round for the Crimson Storm, a 1-over 74, to tie for 13^th.

Harding moved up from eighth to fifth as its team score of 4-over 292 matched Henderson State for the second-best tally of the day. GAC Freshman of the Year Ryan Camras and Trevor Mellott recorded matching 1-under 71s as they both tied for fifth place to earn All-Tournament honors.

Southern Arkansas, Southeastern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Baptist, Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State rounded out the team standings. The Savage Storm’s Zach James, the two-time GAC Player of the Year, finished in fourth to land on the All-Tournament Team for the third time in his career.

The Wonder Boys earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Midwest/Central Regional. They will return to Hot Springs Country Club for Regional play, which takes place from May 9-11. The NCAA will announce the full field at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 26. Henderson State, Southern Arkansas, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southwestern Oklahoma State have all appeared in both of the previous region rankings.

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