Rockford, Ill. -- The Thunder men's golf team returned to the Aldeen Golf Club links on Thursday morning to take part in the second of the 2026 CCIW Championship's three rounds. Wheaton maintained its seventh-place standing after today's 18 holes of competition, and the team's five-player squad was again led by
Wyatt Brown with the top score of the day. This year's conference tournament will conclude with a third and final round on Friday morning.
There was plenty of movement in the middle of the nine-team standings on Thursday, but reigning champions and tournament favorites Illinois Wesleyan remained in first place and now lead the field by a healthy 32-stroke margin with a two-day total of 576. Millikin and Carthage surged up the rankings this morning and are currently tied for second place with scores of 608. Wheaton bettered its opening day performance by two shots, shooting a 313 in today's round to stay in seventh on a combined tally of 628. Sixth-placed Elmhurst carded a team score of 307 for the second round running to check in 14 strokes ahead of the Thunder, while North Central sits six shots behind Wheaton in eighth place on a 634 mark after racking up a round score of 318 this morning.
The Winfield native Brown followed up his Wednesday opener with a 78 (+6) outing this morning to fall just outside of the Top 10 and tie for 13th on the 45-player leaderboard with a two-day total of 152 (+8). The upperclassman will be looking to secure his first career All-Conference recognition in Friday's finale, as the top ten finishers are awarded First Team honors and the golfers in 11th-20th place are named Second Team honorees.
The rookie
Micah Chiong continued his solid championship debut with a three-stroke improvement on his first round by logging a 77 (+5) on Thursday to tie for 28th via a combined score of 157 (+13).
Baylor Brogan matched Chiong's 77 today and entered the clubhouse a single shot behind the freshman on a two-round tally of 158.
Tannen Reed carded an 81 (+9) across today's 18 holes and owns a two-day mark of 161, while
Luke Pringle registered a round score of 84 on Thursday to set his tournament tally at 166 heading into the final round.
Friday's concluding segment will begin at 9:00 AM in Rockford, with Wheaton's golfers starting the day's schedule off in the first group alongside players from North Central and Carroll.
Round One Recap
Rockford, Ill. -- Postseason competition finally began for the Wheaton men's golf team on Wednesday afternoon, as the Thunder opened their three-day residency at the 2026 CCIW Men's Golf Championship. This year's conference tournament is being hosted by Millikin University at the Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford and will consist of three 18-hole rounds played over three-consecutive days. After today's opening installment, the Thunder sit seventh in the nine-team field and were led by junior
Wyatt Brown this afternoon, who currently resides in the Top 10 of the 45-player leaderboard.
The 13-time defending champions and pre-tournament favorites Illinois Wesleyan University lead the team standings after Wednesday's opening round with a total score of 284 (-4). The Vikings of North Park and Augustana are tied for second place, with each squad sitting 17 strokes off the Titans' pace on marks of 301. Wheaton carded a combined first-round tally of 315 (+27) this afternoon and sit one stroke behind Carthage College in sixth and one shot ahead of North Central in eighth. The Carroll Pioneers currently trail the field with a 322 score heading into tomorrow's second round.
Five student-athletes are representing the Thunder in this week's tournament, and the cohort was paced by the third-year golfer Brown on Wednesday, who registered an opening round mark of 74 (+2). He is currently tied for seventh place in the 45-man solo standings, sitting seven shots behind the early competition leader from IWU and a single stroke out of the top five.
The rest of Wheaton's squad all entered this evening's clubhouse near each other on the leaderboard. Senior
Tannen Reed and freshman
Micah Chiong each posted an 18-hole score of 80 today to enter a tie for 31st, while
Baylor Brogan carded an 81 and fellow junior
Luke Pringle tallied an 82 to round out the lineup.
Thursday's second round will begin at 9:00 AM in Rockford, with Pringle the first Thunder player to tee off tomorrow morning followed by his teammates in nine-minute increments.
