Division II Men's Golf | 2023 North Central District Preview
PANORA, Iowa - The ICCAC"s nine Division II Men's Golf teams will travel to Lake Panorama for the 2023 North Central District Tournament next week -- the qualifying tournament of the NJCAA Championships.
Two teams from Region 9 will join the field for the second time -- with Central (Neb.) and Southeast (Neb.) making the journey east.
The Kirkwood Eagles have dominated the national qualifier, winning each of the last seven tournaments dating back to 2015. Last year, they powered past the field, beating second place by 25 strokes -- led by Kolby Shackelford and Brandon McCarty who tied for second place after falling to Ty Heimes of Northeast in a playoff.
The Eagles won the District Preview last fall as well at Lake Panorama - edging Southeast (Neb.) after two days by seven strokes.
Northeast and Hawkeye were the other two teams to qualify last year, but this year, both Southeast (Neb.) and Iowa Central are looking to move up the leaderboard this spring. With Iowa Lakes, DMACC and Southwestern, the North Central District may be the most competitive tournament in the country.
Kirkwood's Luke Evans won the Fall Preview -- with Iowa Central's Nico Booyens taking runner-up, just one stroke back.
The Top 5 Golfers on GolfStat.com to date that will be at this tournament are Kirkwood's Shackelford and Evans along with Grant Graezel and Taylor Crisp. Justin Schipper of Iowa Central is currently the third rated golfer among the field.
Others to keep an eye on are Southeast's Cole Feddersen, Harrison Foxall and Luke Strako, along with DMACC's Spencer Clatt and Sam Vertanen.
Golfers will play a total of 54 holes with 36 on Day 1, and 18 on Day 2. Shotgun tee times begin for everyone at 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning.
The top three teams and next three individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NJCAA Championships.
North Central District Tournament Website
Lake Panorama National Golf Course Website
Past Team Champions (Last 5):
2022 - Kirkwood
2021 - Kirkwood
2020 - COVID-19
2019 - Kirkwood
2018 - Kirkwood
Past Individual Champions (Last 5):
2022 - Ty Heimes, Northeast
2021 - James Morgan - Kirkwood
2020 - COVID-19
2019 - James Morgan - Kirkwood
2018 - Dawson Peters - Kirkwood
2017- Max Thrune, Kirkwood - Avery Fuhs DMACC