Led by Devin Johnson's wire-to-wire finish, Loyola earned its first team title at the conference championship in men's golf, earning a four-stroke victory over second-place Illinois State at the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Golf Championship being contested at the par-72, 7,070-yard layout at Flossmoor Golf Club in Flossmoor, Ill.
The Ramblers fired a three-round 291-301-303=895 to earn the title, and Loyola will represent the MVC in the NCAA Regionals. Illinois State, the pre-championship favorite, charged hard on Tuesday as the Redbirds fired a tournament low round of 286 (two under par as a team) to cut 17 strokes off Loyola's lead. In addition to the medalist honor by Loyola's Johnson, the Ramblers also held the runner-up position in the individual standings as teammate Timmy Crawford fired a 74-76-70=220 to finish tied for second with SIU's Justin Wingerter. Loyola's Justin LaFrance also finished tied for 10th for coach Erik Hoops' team.
Final Team by Team Results (PDF)
Team Standings and Top 20 Individuals (PDF)
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A pair of Salukis finished in the top six, led by MVC Newcomer of the Year Wingerter (221), who tied for second. Matthis Besard was sixth with a 225. Illinois State's Andrew O'Brien fired a tournament low 69 on the final day to finish fourth with a 222, while Valparaiso's Caleb VanArragon took fifth at 224. Coaches determined this year's specialty award winners, while the all-conference team was determined by both order of finish and a pre-championship vote of coaches. The league's Elite 17 honor goes to the golfer (among the top 18 finishers) who holds the highest cumulative grade point average. This year’s recipient is VanArragon; he has a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in biology.
Golfer of the Year: David Perkins, Illinois State
Newcomer of the Year: Justin Wingerter, Southern Illinois
Elite 17 Winner: Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso
Coach of the Year: Erik Hoops, Loyola
Medalist: Devin Johnson, Loyola
2021 All-Conference Team
Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois
Timmy Crawford, Loyola
Devin Johnson, Loyola
Max Kreikemeier, Missouri State
Tim Lim, Drake
Andrew O’Brien, Illinois State
David Perkins, Illinois State
Griffin Parker, UNI
Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso
Justin Wingerter, Southern Illinois
Devin Johnson became the first Loyola student-athlete to win medalist honors at the men’s championship since the Ramblers joined the league for the 2013-14 season. Johnson had Loyola’s top stroke average this year. David Perkins is a four-time selection to the league’s all-conference team. He earned Golfer of the Week honors four times this year and set a league record by being named Golfer of the Week 15 times in his career. He entered the championship with a 71.72 stroke average in six events. Perkins was also the 2020 MVC Golfer of the Year and is now one of just four players in league history to win the award twice. Meanwhile, Wingerter is the third golfer from SIU to earn Newcomer of the Year honors. He tied for the team lead in six events before the championship with a 73.28 stroke average and had three top-25 finishes, not including this week’s strong showing.
DAY ONE RECAP (Monday, April 26) -- Johnson fired a 70-71=141 on Monday to finish three under par and is one of three Ramblers in the Top 10 on the individual leaderboard. He's joined by teammates Justin LaFrance and Timmy Crawford who each shot a two-round 150 to tie for third.
As a team, the Ramblers shot a two-round 291-301=592 and hold a 19-stroke advantage over second-place Southern Illinois (611). After Loyola, teams are tightly bunched in positions 2-6, with only six strokes separating second-place Southern and sixth-place Valparaiso (616). Pre-championship favorite Illinois State sits in the third position (613), followed by Bradley (615) and Missouri State (615), and Valpo (616). Drake (630), UNI (631) and Evansville (651) round out Day 1 scoring.
Since joining the league in 2013-14, the Ramblers have not finished higher than 7th place at the league championship. No Loyola individual has ever earned medalist honors. Only Garret Buckley in 2015 has finished among the Top 10 in Loyola's individual history in the MVC Championship. Buckley was runner-up finisher that year to earn first-team all-league honors.
Caleb VanArragon of Valparaiso is chasing Devin Johnson for the top spot on the individual leaderboard. VanArragon is second after firing a two-round 149, but he's eight strokes back of Johnson. LaFrance, Crawford, Southern Illinois' Matthis Besard and Missouri State's Mas Kreikemeier are tied for third at 150, while JP Lavalle of Missouri State, Alex Ciaramitaro of Bradley and Justin Wingerter of Southern Illinois are a stroke behind and tied for 7th. Isaac Rohleder of Evansville rounds out the Top 10 with a two-round 152.
FLOSSMOOR: Just 45 minutes from downtown Chicago, Flossmoor Golf Club was founded in 1899 and shortly after played host to the 1920 PGA Championship and 1923 U.S. Amateur. More recently, it has served as the site of the Loyola Women's Fall Invitational since 2014.
Fans must remain physically distant from other families or groups when moving through the venue or while on the course. Fans are not permitted to interact with the student-athletes, coaches, team personnel or rules officials at any time. Fans are encouraged to review host course and local health and safety guidelines prior to arrival.