NORMAL, Ill. – The No. 24-ranked Carleton College men's golf team tied for ninth place out of 38 teams at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. In a field of 228 golfers, Sam Higaki was part of a group in 18th place on the final individual leaderboard.
 
No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan "B" team concluded the weekend in first place with a team score of 575 (+3), while No. 6 Aurora (582) moved into second place. Carleton finished with a score of 600 (+28, 304-296) for sole position of ninth place.
 
Sam Higaki (+2, 74+73=147) posted back-to-back rounds of two-over-par and moved up the leaderboard on day two to keep pace with the pack in 18th place. Justin Rodriguez carded a 73 on Saturday to match his teammate. Rodriguez (+6, 76+73=149) finished among a group of golfers in 35th place.
 
Gordon Walker (+9, 77+75=152) and Ryan Choi (+9, 77+75=152) had matching scores on both days and finished in 66th place overall among a group of nineteen golfers.
 
Dillon Croco (+21, 89+75=164) kept pace with his teammates in round two and ended the day four-over-par.
 
Gareth Birney concluded the weekend with a 36-hole score of 158.
 
"The team played great this weekend for the first event of the spring, said Carleton head coach Sloan Wallgren. "Friday was rainy and windy, and Saturday was cool and windy. We are looking forward to warmer weather for our next event in two weeks."
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will compete in the Bobby Krig Invitational hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College on April 18-19.