The Winona State University Men’s golf team finished in fourth place after a two-day outing at the Warrior Invitational held at Stallion Mountain Golf Club in Las Vegas.
Washburn University walked away with the victory with a team score of 601.
The Warriors shot a total of 620 over the two-day invitational and finished eight strokes ahead of Rocky Mountain College and five strokes behind North- eastern State.
Winona State’s fourth-year Matthew Chandler finished the tournament as the top performer for Winona State, carding a 150 after a first-day score of 77 finishing fourth on the individual leaderboard.
On day two, third-year Abraham Elmore ascended the ladder as well, nabbing the second spot for the Warriors team with a score of 154.
Third-year Dylan Brown, the final Warrior golfer in the top 25 round-up, tied for 23 with a score of 158.
Other Warrior finishes included first-year Markus Iwerbo with a position 29 finish netting a 160 score, second-year Bailey Callander with a score of 170, finishing 44 and third-year Brennan Rothgarn finishing 31st with a 162 in the invitational.
After the performance, Chandler said he is proud of the team and is excited to get into the swing of things going into the Washburn Invitational.
I think the Warrior Invitational was a good start to our season, just to be able to get outside and compete for the first time in a calendar year and the team had a decent performance overall and definitely left Las Vegas with something to build on heading into the spring,” Chandler said. “Heading into the Washburn invitational the team can improve on consistency throughout the lineup as the team was a bit rusty coming off a long winter layoff and indoor practice.”
Jeff Straight, head coach of the men’s golf team, said Chandler is a key motivator and momentum shifter that the team has.
“He [Chandler] was one of the top players in the NSIC last season,” Straight said. “He is a true leader on our team both on and off the golf course and as a captain he mentors incoming as well as current players and sets a great example for everyone to follow.”
Although he was granted captain status through his achievements, Chandler said he doesn’t focus on personal goals and focuses on trying to play his best in order to help the team reach our goals as
a group.
“The team’s main goal for the season is to win another NSIC championship and compete at the NCAA regional tournament for a chance to earn a spot at the national championship,”
Chandler said.
As for that happening, the Warriors have a great shot to do so because of being ranked fifth in the NCAA Central Region Men’s Golf ranking last February and the golf team receiving votes in the NCAA Division ranks, according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches’ Poll released on March 5.

The Warriors men’s golf team will next compete at the Washburn Invitational next week on March 22-23, held in Topeka, Kansas.