By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Battle Creek, Mich.---Brandon Hoelzer (Fremont Ross/Fremont, Ohio) captured medalist honors by a stroke as the No. 3 Owens Community College men's golf team placed three golfers in the top three to capture the program's second straight Region XII tournament championship.

With their win, Owens advances to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament May 20-23 at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind.

Hoelzer shot a final round 76 for a three-round total of 213 to edge out Grand Rapids Community College's Jared Multer for second place. Hoelzer's teammates, Philippe Weppernig (Luzern, Switzerland) and Harrison Long (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) finished third and fourth, respectively.

Weppernig shot a final round 77 to finish 218 overall, while Long shot a team-best final round 72 to earn a 219. 

Timothy Dawkins (Big Rapids/Big Rapids, Mich.) was the second best Owens golfer in today's final round with a 75. He finished at 239 overall. Kirby Manown (Belle Vernon/Belle Vernon, Penn.) and Dru Hein (Jasper/Jasper, Ind.) each shot a 237 total. Manown had a final round 80, while Hein had a final round 79.

Hein and Manown each finished tied for 29th, while Dawkins finished tied for 34th.

As a team, Owens shot a 300 as a team in the final round, which was eight shots behind GRCC's 292. However, the Express held a 12 shot lead heading into today's final round, thus securing their second straight Region XII championship by four strokes with their 882.

Oakland Community College shot a final round 303 for a three-round total of 909 for third place. Muskegon Community College (922) and Columbus State Community College (924) rounded out the top five.

Region XII Honors

In addition to the team securing their second straight title, Hoelzer captured his second straight Region XII individual championship, thus earning Region XII player of the year honors for the second straight year.

Owens head men's golf coach Josh Williams also earned Region XII Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year.

Due to their top 10 finishes individually, Hoelzer, Weppernig and Long all earned All-Region XII team honors, as well as Region XII All-Tournament team honors.

Notes

Owens actually finished two strokes better than their three-round 884 in last year's Region XII tournament, which has been held at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek both years.

This year's trip to the national tournament will be the fourth in the program's history. They finished 14th in 2006 and 10th last year and in 2008.

Owens won a national tournament preview event at Swan Lake Resort this past fall, so they are familiar with the course. They shot a 292-296-293 in the three round event and had the lowest team score in each round of the eight team tournament.

Links

NJCAA Division II National Tournament Page - here

Full Region XII tournament results - here