May 24, 2024

Ferris State men’s golf team finishes in national top 10, Bulldog Nathan Kraynyk is national runner-up

The Ferris State University men's golf team finished the season ninth in the nation after competing in the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships, with Bulldog Nathan Kraynyk finishing as the national runner-up.

The Bulldogs had a strong final round, shooting even par with a 284 team score over the final 18 holes of action. Ferris State finished ninth overall at 857 or 5 over par for the 54-hole tournament held on the par 71 course measuring 7,419 yards.

The D2 National Championships were held in conjunction with the Division II Spring Sports Festival at the Orange County National Golf Center in Winter Garden, Fla.

The top eight teams following the 54-hole stroke play portion of the national championships advanced to the head-to-head national quarterfinals and Ferris State narrowly missed the field.

The Bulldogs were in contention to finish in the top eight throughout the final round finished only four shots behind eighth-place finisher West Texas A&M. The team champion was West Florida, which carded a 14-under par score for the tournament.

"It was an incredible season by an impressive group of young men, who represented our program and our university with class, dedication and grit," Ferris State head coach Sam Stark said. "We were disappointed to fall a bit short of match play, but never disappointed in the effort by this group."

Individually, Kraynyk tied for second place overall on the leaderboard with a 206 tournament figure. He carded a 67 in the final round after shooting a 70 in round one and a 69 in round two.
"What a week of golf for this Dawg," Stark said. "He was an absolute incredible competitor and gave everything he had for his teammates throughout his Bulldog career."

Kraynyk is a junior from Buffalo Point, Manitoba in Canada.

Ferris State’s Caleb Bond and Zach Koerner both tied for 37th on the leaderboard with 216 tournament totals. Bond shot a 76 in the final round while Koerner closed with an even-par 71 figure.

The Bulldogs' McCoy Biagioli finished tied for 77th with a 222 total, notching a 73 in the final round. Finally, Sam Havey also carded a 73 in round three and placed tied for 83rd in the field with a 223 figure.
The Bulldogs were one of 20 team from across the country competing for the national championship in men's golf.

The Bulldogs earned their trip to the national championships after a fifth-place finish at the NCAA D2 Midwest/Central Super Regional Championships that wrapped up on May 11 in Edmond, Okla.
Ferris State shot a final-round 277 team figure and finished at 834 or six-under for the 54-hole super regional tournament to earn its spot in the national championships.

This year's national championships berth represented FSU's 17th all-time in program history and first since 2019. The finals were hosted by Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
Ferris State's ninth-place team finish is the program's best since 2017 when the Bulldogs earned runner-up honors in the 2017 NCAA-II Midwest/Central Super Regional in Kearney, Neb., before going on to a national quarterfinal finish. In 2019, the Bulldogs placed tied for third at the super regional and reached the NCAA D2 National Championships, placing 20th overall.

This year also marked the 19th time in the past 21 years in which the Bulldogs had representation in the NCAA Tournament when it has been held. The stretch of NCAA Championship representation in men's golf ranks as one of the best stretches in the country.

Ferris State also captured its 22nd all-time GLIAC Championship by beating rival Grand Valley State in the league finale on April 14 in Augusta, Mich.