Loxtercamp & Boemer Rally St. John's in MIAC Tournament

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COON RAPIDS -- Bethel's Conor Schubring came into the MIAC Championships last week ranked No. 1 in the conference, with a scoring average of 72.0 strokes per round over seven rounds this fall.  And for the first two rounds at Bunker Hills, he remained No. 1. After opening with a 4-under par 68, the senior from St. Louis Park followed it with a 69, and his 36-hole total of 137 had him three strokes clear of the two players who were tied for second, Schubring's Bethel teammate Will Karkoc and Nate Loxtercamp of St. John's. Karkoc and Loxtercamp both got to 140 the same way, with a first-round 69 and second-round 71.

Bethel was also in first place, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Schubring and Karkoc. The Royals put together a 4-under 284 on Day 1, which gave them a nine-shot lead over St. John's, and they increased it to 10 over the Johnnies with second round of 292.

Things began to change early in the final round, however. 

Loxtercamp birdied the 354-yard, par-4 second hole, the 164-yard, par-3 third and the 466-yard, par-5 fourth. Meanwhile, Schubring, after making a birdie at No. 1 (427 yards, par 4), bogeyed the No. 2 and doubled No. 3. Karkoc did the same, except that he didn't birdie No. 1. 

That was pretty much how it went for the rest of the round for the Royals.

As for Loxtercamp, who entered the tournament ranked No. 3 in the conference with a scoring average of 73,0, after his fast start, the junior from Melrose settled in and played solid golf, making 10 pars in a row, and then picking up his fourth birdie of the day at the 440-yard, par-4 15th. That gave him a six-shot lead; so it didn't really matter that he bogeyed the last two holes. He finished with a 70, which gave him a 54-hole aggregate of 210 -- and a four-stroke victory over Schubring, who struggled for 17 holes before making a birdie at the 18th, for a 77 and a 214 total.

Karkoc made three birdies in the final round, but he also had to count seven bogeys and two doubles, all of which added up to 80. With that, he slipped back into fifth at 220. 

The other player leading the final-day charge for St. John's was sophomore Andrew Boemer. He had eight pars and one eagle (at the par-5 fourth) on his card for the front nine, and he got to 4 under for the day with birdies at the par-5 11th (530 yards) and the par-4 13th (373). He had two bogeys coming in, on the 15th and 17th holes, but they didn't really matter. He finished third, four behind Schubring at 218, and that was where he would have finished with all pars on the way in. 

Sam Berger was another major contributer to the St. John's rally. He was 2 over for the round and two behind Karkoc with two holes to go, but he birdied the daunting, 220-yard, par-3 17th and finished with a 73, which put him at 219 and in sole possession of fourth place, one ahead of Karkoc.

With three players in the top 4 of the individual standings -- and Blake Schuler tying for eighth at 223 -- St. John's wound up winning by a surprisingly comfortable margin. The Johnnies shot a combined 285 (3 under) on Day 3, and that gave them an overall 870. Bethel could do no better than 308 and finished 13 behind in second, at 883.

Gustavus Adolphus was another 14 behind in third, at 897. Carleton was fourth at 902. 

With the victory, St. John's assured itself of a place in the NCAA Division III Championships next May, at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky.   


MIAC Men's Championships. 

At Bunker Hills Golf Course

Par 72, 6,948 yards

Coon Rapids

Final results

1. St. John's                    293-292-285--870

2. Bethel                          284-291-308--883

3. Gustavus Adolphus     301-299-297--897

4. Carleton                       306-294-302--902

5. Concordia                     295-316-303--914

6. Augsburg                      312-307-309--928

7. Macalester                    302-314-317--933

8. St. Olaf                          306-309-323--938

9. St. Scholastica              332-320-351--1003

Individuals

1. Nate Loxtercamp. St. John's          69-71-70--210 (-6)

2. Conor Schubring, Bethel                68-69--77--214

3. Andrew Boemer, St. John's            75-73-70--218

4. Sam Berger, St. John's                   72-74-73--219

5. Will Karkoc, Bethel                          69-71-80--220

6. Wyatt Wasko, Gustavus                  75-71-75--221

7. James Berger, Carleton                  75-72-75--222

T8. Landon Olson, Concordia             73-79-71--223

T8. Blake Schuler, St. John's               77-74-72--223