Decatur, Ill. -- Saturday marked the end point of a hectic eight-day stretch for the Thunder men's golf team, as Wheaton has taken part in three events over the last week, all of which were spread out over two days. This weekend's competition was Millikin University's annual "Take Back the Night" Challenge, and it served as the final tournament of the regular season for Wheaton before next week's CCIW Championship. The Thunder tied for eighth in this weekend's 20-team event and were once again led by senior captain Jonah Swartz, who bagged another top-end finish in the individual field.

Illinois Wesleyan University's A team were the victors of Friday and Saturday's competition in Decatur, shooting an impressive team score of 559 (-9) over the two days of play to top the 20-squad standings. Wheaton registered a combined 291 (+3) yesterday to start the weekend in fifth place but had to settle for a T-eighth placement after a total of 307 (+27) in Saturday's round. The Thunder ended the weekend tied with tournament hosts Millikin, one stroke behind seventh-placed Lake Forest College, and two shots ahead of Hope College and Carthage College, who tied for tenth.

Swartz, the two-time reigning CCIW Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Week, maintained his sharp run of form at this weekend's tournament by tying for fifth on the 116-player leaderboard. The South Dakota native carded an even 70 (-2) in Friday's opening round at Red Tail Run to head into the second 18 tied for eighth on the solo board. The senior was two-over in today's round with a 72 mark at South Side, but his combined score of 142 (E) was good enough to bump him into the top five and secure his fourth-consecutive top-ten placement.

Wyatt Brown went into Friday's clubhouse tied with Swartz in eighth place after a first-18 tally of 70, but the sophomore's second round score of 80 saw him slip to a T-39th finish via a two-day tally of 150. Sam Obitts was close behind, lowering his first-day mark of 78 to a 73 (+3) on Saturday for a weekend score of 151 to tie for 43rd in the solo standings. Freddie Chan carded a 75 (+3) on the first 18 before registering an 82 in today's round to compile a two-day mark of 157 and tie for 71st place. Jackson Swartz was the fifth Thunder golfer to take part in this weekend's competition, and the rookie earned a first-round score of 76 paired with an 83 on Saturday to end the event with a 159 tally.

With the regular season now in the books, Wheaton's focus turns toward the CCIW Championship, for which the team will head back to central Illinois next week. This year's conference tournament is being hosted by Carthage College in Peoria and is set to take place over three rounds of play from Thursday, May 1st to Saturday, May 3rd.