West Dundee, Ill. -- Less than 48 hours after completing the first event on its Spring 2026 schedule, the Thunder men's golf team returned to the links on Monday to compete in the Judson University Invitational. Ten of the 11 players on Wheaton's roster took part in today's single-round competition, and the team enjoyed a strong outing, as Wheaton's A squad came in fourth in the 22-team tournament. Freshman Micah Chiong earned the first top-five finish of his collegiate career to help lead the Thunder this afternoon.

The ten competing student-athletes were divided into 'A' teams and 'B' teams of five members each to represent Wheaton in today's tournament, with the two Thunder groups participating alongside 20 other programs from the surrounding area. Monday's competition was won by Elmhurst University's A team on a final cumulative total of +19, topping the standings by a four-stroke margin over runner-up and invite host Judson.

Aurora University's JV squad came in third with a mark of +24, entering the clubhouse two strokes ahead of Wheaton's A group on a +26 tally. The Thunder ultimately had a four-shot cushion over fifth-placed Marian University in the final standings to earn Wheaton's third top-five team finish of 2025-26 and first since Olivet Nazarene's Bill Johnson Memorial in mid-September. Wheaton's B team registered a combined mark of +49 this afternoon to tie for 15th place with NAIA side St. Xavier University.

Chiong paced the Thunder A team on Monday with an impressive 74 (+3) round that saw him tie for fourth place on the tournament's 129-player leaderboard. Baylor Brogan was not far behind his rookie teammate this afternoon, shooting a 77 (+6) to tie for 17th with a top-20 placement of his own.

Aidan Quinlivan competed on the Wheaton 'B' team today but was the Orange and Blue's next-highest finisher, coming in T-24th with a 79 (+8) showing. One of the ten fellow competitors he tied with was Wyatt Brown, who continued his solid start to the spring after leading the Thunder at last weekend's Illinois Wesleyan Invite. Luke Pringle was only one stroke behind Brown and Quinlivan on an 80 (+9) round score that was good for a T-35th outing.

Wheaton B teammates Freddie Chan and Tannen Reed matched each other on a score of 83 (+12) this afternoon to tie for 58th in the top half of the leaderboard. 'A' team member Jackson Swartz was a single shot behind the pair in the clubhouse with a final tally of 84 that tied him for 64th place.

Lance Otremba and Ryan McLain continued this pattern of teammates tying with each other, as the duo each carded an 88 to finish in 86th place at today's event.

After putting in a solid day's work on the course with multiple impressive performances, the Thunder will next be in action this coming weekend in Michigan. Wheaton travels out of state to take part in Hope College's Bob Ebels Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Both of the competition's rounds are set to begin at 9 AM Central/10 AM Eastern on each of the two mornings in Allendale.