No. 2 Eagles head to the National Championship

(ODESSA, TX) - The Meridian Community College golf team will make their third consecutive appearance in the NJCAA Division I National Championship this week in Odessa, TX.

The Eagles enter the national tournament ranked as the No. 2 team in the country.

The championship, which is scheduled for 72 holes, begins on Tuesday. The four-day event will conclude on Friday and is being played on the “Links Course” of Odessa Country Club.

Last season MCC claimed their best finish in school history at the Division I level with a second place finish in the national championship, played last year at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail-Hampton Cove in Huntsville, AL. Then Eagle freshman, Brandt Garon, won the programs first ever individual national championship, shooting 5-under par for the tournament.

Garon is back this year to defend his title starting in the No. 1 spot for fifth-year MCC head coach Sean Covich.

Garon is perhaps the hottest golfer in all of college golf having won a NCAA Division I event (Arkansas State Red Wolf Intercollegiate) and a NJCAA post season championship (NJCAA District IV Championship) in his last two outings. He is 18-under par for his last five rounds of tournament golf.

“Brandt has had a remarkable career here at MCC,” said Covich.

“No matter what happens this week at nationals, he will leave here the most decorated player in school history. A NJCAA All America, a GCAA All America, the Arnold Palmer Award recipient last season, a member of the GCAA All Freshman team, a two time All Region player, and of course MCC’s first NJCAA National Champion. He has done it all.”

Garon has won a school record six tournaments and set nine other school records in his time at MCC, including season scoring average (72.1), career scoring average (72.4) and most rounds of even-par or better (31). Garon has signed with the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Playing in the No. 2 spot for MCC will be freshman Jake Stirling. Stirling has notched as many top five finishes as Garon this season (7) and has tied the school record for lowest score (65).

“Jake has already made his mark and earned the interest of several four year coaches,” said Covich.

“He has played very consistent for us and pushed Brandt to be a better golf this season also.”

Sophomore Clemens Dvorak will start in the No. 3 spot for MCC. The Georgia State University signee recently earned MCC’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.

“Clemens has always been someone we could count on to post a solid score and fight the entire round for us. He has brought maturity and passion to this team.”

Meridian native, Easton Key will start in the No. 4 spot for the Eagles. Key, a freshman from Lamar, tied the school record in the fall with a 7-under par 65 in his first college event.

“Easton, at times, has shown that he can be one of the best on this team. Being a freshman, though, comes with first year mistakes. He has been able to learn from Brandt, Clemens and the other sophomores throughout the season to become a better golfer.”

Sophomore Adam Monsen returns to his home state for his final event as an Eagle. The San Antonio, TX native will play in the No. 5 spot for MCC this week. Monsen is the only player, besides Garon, to win multiple tournaments over his career. Monsen won the 2010 Faulkner State Invitational and the 2011 Miss-Lou College Invitational. Monsen has signed with the University of Louisiana Monroe.

23 teams from around the country are competing including two-time defending national champions, McLennan (TX) College. McLennan won last year’s national title by 8 shots over MCC in a rain shortened 54-hole championship.

MCC will be paired with New Mexico Junior College and Indian Hills Community College for the first and second rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday pairings will be determined by what position the teams are in.

The Eagles hit the links Tuesday at 7:30 am. Wednesday, MCC tees off at 11:04 am.

Live scoring for the 2011 NJCAA DI Men’s Golf National Championship will be available on GolfStat.com at www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=2695

Check out the final regular season NJCAA DI Men’s Golf Poll here http://www.njcaa.org/sports_polls.cfm?category=Polls&sid=12&divid=1&slid=6