Owls finalize NCAA play in a tie for sixth

5/15/2026 5:15:00 PM

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. -- With the best finish in program history, the Kenyon College Owls wrapped up the four-day 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship in a tie for sixth place within the field of 43 teams. The program's previous best finish was a tie for eighth place in the 2024 NCAA Championship.

Kenyon's appearance in this year's Championship was the seventh in program history, the third in the last three seasons, and the fourth in the last five seasons.

During this four-day Championship, held at Mission Resort and Club, the Owls were in third place after the first round, seventh place after the second round, and back to third place after the third round.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps blitzed the field Friday with a remarkable team score of 15-under-par. The Stags tied Illinois Wesleyan University atop the leaderboard and then took home the title in a playoff. Both those teams finished the Championship at 13-under par (1135). Aurora University was third at five-under (1143). Sewanee was fourth at four-over (1152) and Methodist University, the defending national champion, edged Kenyon by one stroke, finishing fifth at six-over (1154).

Friday, the Owls put up a team score of 294, which was six-over-par on the El Campeon Course. Both sophomore Adrian Jordan and junior Jaiden Koonar came in at even par. Jordan's round included two birdies and two bogeys, while Koonar had five birdies, four bogeys and one double.

Jordan was battling for the medalist spot throughout the tournament and wound up tying for third place in the field of 225 golfers. That spot was the best finish ever by a Kenyon golfer in NCAA Championship play. Jordan went five-under-par (67) on day one and followed with rounds of 70, 71, and 72 for a final stroke count of 280, just three strokes off leader, Sebi Aliaga of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who went five-under-par in each of the last two days.

Kenyon's previous best finish in national competition came from Jonathan Oakes, who tied for sixth place in the 2024 Championship. This year, Oakes, now a junior, tied for 57th place with a four-day total of 297, which was 10-over par. Friday, Oakes shot a three-over 75 with a round that included five bogeys and two birdies.

The Owls' fourth scoring golfer was sophomore Connor Gray, who concluded the Championship with 292 strokes, putting him in a tie for 41st place with Koonar, as both finished play at five-over-par for the tournament. Gray went out Friday with a three-over 38 and then came back in at even par on the back nine for a final score of three-over 75.

Rafael Frias IV was Kenyon's fifth man and he finished the Championship with a 76 on Friday, giving him a final stroke count of 305, which put him in 80th place on the individual leaderboard.

With another impressive NCAA Championship result this year, the Owls can only feel great about the future, having no seniors on the roster and returning a boatload of experience for the year ahead.

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