Colorado Christian earns team berth in men’s NCAA DII nationals for just the second time in program history; CCU’s Dylan Arthur claims regional title; Colorado Mesa just misses advancing
By Gary Baines – 5/11/2024
A year after no Colorado-based schools advanced full teams to the men’s NCAA Division II golf national championships, Colorado Christian University made the grade with plenty to spare on Saturday, while Colorado Mesa narrowly missed out.
Colorado Christian, ranked fifth in the nation in men’s DII, will head to nationals for just the second time in program history, having finished 16th in 2018. The national meet is set for May 21-25 Winter Garden, Fla.
CCU earned the national berth on Saturday by placing in the top five — out of 20 teams — at the NCAA DII South Central/West Regional in Las Cruces, N.M.
Colorado Christian tied for second place — at even par for three days — and ended up two strokes behind champion Western New Mexico. CCU can thank an outstanding second day — where it shot the best round of the tournament, by five strokes (12 under par) — for easily advancing. CCU owns four team victories this season, including its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title.
Colorado Christian senior Dylan Arthur, from Frisco, Texas, claimed the individual regional title, marking his first college victory. He went 72-65-67 for a 9-under-par total and a two-stroke win. Over three days, he carded 15 birdies and six bogeys.
CCU’s Adam Duncan, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif., who has two individual wins to his credit this season and is ranked No. 4 in the nation in Division II, placed sixth on Saturday (70-66-72).
Colorado Mesa was inside the qualifying line — in fifth place — for most of the day, but dropped behind Cal State Monterey Bay down the stretch and finished two strokes out of the fifth spot, at 15 over par. CMU has advanced to the NCAA nationals just once, placing 18th in 2022.
Colorado State-Pueblo tied for 12th in the team standings.
For all the results from the South Central/West Regional, CLICK HERE
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com