Rodehorst breaks school record as men’s golf concludes season

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – Sophomore Shawn Rodehorst capped an incredible run this spring by breaking the Concordia school record for lowest average round in a season. On Thursday he shot a career best one-under-par 70 to climb to eighth in the GPAC individual race – good enough to earn all-conference honors. That round also allowed Rodehorst to tie for first on the day and fuel Concordia’s team total of 319.

“He played the cleanest round I’ve seen him play,” Bulldog head coach Brett Muller said.

“Shawn came in as a freshman and I knew he would be very good. He showed glimpses as a freshman of what he could be and then showed more of that in the fall. This spring he put it all together. He just doesn’t get in trouble. He is very consistent and has an exceptional mental game.”

Rodehorst collected 15 pars, two birdies and just one bogey in a round that tied Doane’s Cale Benson for the lowest score on the day. That performance came on the heels of a Blue River Invite championship less than two weeks ago for Rodehorst, a Kearney, Neb., native, who is already rewriting Bulldog record books with a full two years of eligibility remaining.

Rodehorst finished the season with an average of 75.2 in 13 rounds. He improved his average from 77.25 in the fall to a scorching 71.8 in the spring.

The Bulldogs got a solid all-around team performance with a combined score of 319 – the team’s lowest round among the four GPAC qualifiers in 2012-13. Muller’s Bulldog men finished with a four round 338-335-325-319–1,317 to place 10th in the conference.

Freshman Garrett Suchanek followed Rodehorst on Thursday with an 82. Concordia’s group of five was rounded out by two more freshmen in Brock Colclasure (83) and Sam Simonson (84) and a junior in Sam DeFreece (85) on the par-71 course.

DeFreece’s four-round total of 85-90-78-85–338 allowed him to finish 32nd overall among individual GPAC golfers, while Simonson (87-89-88-84–348) came in 34th.

The final performance of the season for Concordia left Muller satisfied with the consistent improvement for his young squad that will return its entire varsity lineup next season.

“Those five guys played most of the events all year,” Muller said. “We were really looking at improving at GPAC Qualifier No. 4 to give us something to build upon for next year. We should be able to get off to a better start next fall. We dug ourselves into too big of a hole in the first two qualifiers this season.”

That concludes the 2012-13 season for Muller’s men’s golfers. The Bulldog women will finish their season with 36 holes of action in Dakota Dunes, S.D., on Friday. They currently sit in 11th place. Concordia will tee off at 8:30 a.m. A short break will take place after the first 18 holes.