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MGCCC Men’s Golf Claims Second Consecutive National Title
Friday was a monumental day for Mississippi Gulf Coast as the Bulldogs claimed their second straight NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship at Swan Lake Golf Resort in Plymouth, Ind.
After putting on a clinic in round three of the tournament, Stanley Campbell prevailed in the final round to win the individual championship, becoming the second Bulldog to accomplish the feat. He finished 5-under with the full Bulldog squad recording a 26-over mark.
The tournament saw weather conditions that brought a challenge over the course of four days, but Head Coach Brad Thornton and assistant Jackson Wedgeworth had a gameplan set up months ago. The plan worked like a charm and helped the Bulldogs take care of business.
“Jackson and I put a real focus in a couple of key areas, the most important being the guy’s mental toughness and showing some grit,” Coach Thornton said. “And when you play in conditions like this, that’s probably one of the biggest advantages is to have great attitude, and these guys did that for 72 holes.”
Illinois Central made a push in the final round, but Gulf Coast was able to hold the Cougars off by one shot. In addition, the 26-over mark for Gulf Coast was 12 shots better than third-place South Mountain. Campbell had to hold off Illinois Central’s Trey Boecker on the 18th hole to clinch the win, and the sophomore from London, England, was able to clinch the victory by two strokes.
“I’m just over the moon,” Campbell said. “I’ve said it from Day one when I first got here in August after we won last year. I said I want the team to win, but I want to win this individually. I want to show everyone that I can do this, and I have. It’s unbelievable.”
Gulf Coast became the 13th school in Division II to win both the team and individual titles in the same year since 1990. They are also only the fourth team to win three Division II team titles, as well as being the first to repeat since South Mountain in 2015-16.
