West Chicago, Ill. -- After ten days away from the links, the penultimate event on the Wheaton men's golf team's Fall 2025 schedule arrived on Tuesday, as seven Thunder players headed to St. Andrews to compete in the Benedictine Eagle Fall Invite. Today's single-round competition was made up of 23 teams from 15 different institutions, and Wheaton fielded one squad of five golfers with two more competing on an individual basis. The Thunder secured an 11th-place finish in the event and were led by sophomore Ryan McLain, who tied for third overall on the solo standings thanks to an excellent under par showing.

The North Park (A) squad won Tuesday's competition with a combined team score of 292 (+4), fending off a fierce challenge from runners-up Aurora (B), who finished the day just one shot behind the Vikings on a 293 (+5) mark. Wheaton carded a combined tally of 313 (+25) to place 11th in the 23-squad standings, entering the clubhouse a single stroke outside of the Top 10 and one shot in front of tournament hosts Benedictine University, who came in 12th place in the crowded field.

McLain registered a 71 (-1) individual score through his 18 holes of play to tie for third place on the 124-man leaderboard as one of just seven players to shoot under par on Tuesday. The California native finished the competition only one stroke behind the two tournament champions from Aurora University and Judson University and collected a first collegiate trophy for his standout effort (pictured right). 
McLain's round score marked the first under par total for a Wheaton men's golfer since All-Region honoree Jonah Swartz carded a -3 on the final day of last spring's CCIW Championship.

Despite competing as an individual whose score was not factored into Wheaton's team mark, senior Lance Otremba had the second-best outing of the day for the Thunder, shooting a 75 (+3) to tie for 23rd place in the solo standings. His fellow individual competitor, Jake Parras, carded a 95 in Tuesday's round.

Aidan Quinlivan also earned a top 50 finish courtesy of his 78 (+6) mark that saw him tie for 47th on the leaderboard. Freddie Chan stepped into the clubhouse three strokes behind Quinlivan on a daily tally of 81 (+9). Micah Chiong registered an 83 and Jackson Swartz posted an 85 in Tuesday's local competition.

Wheaton's fall season will conclude one week from now when the Thunder head to Lemont to take part in the annual Lewis University Flyer Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday.