Sept. 12, 2024
There’s no place like home: Ferris State disc golf team with national champ Benji Zorn hosting conference competition this weekend
The top collegiate disc golfers are headed to Big Rapids this weekend – and that’s not counting the ones who are here year-round.
Ferris State’s disc golf team finished fourth in the nation last year, with student Benji Zorn named national singles champion. The team is hosting the Great Lakes Conference Opener on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Northend Riverside Park in Big Rapids, beginning at 9 a.m.
“The opener at Northend will provide a terrific opportunity for people to see many of the top collegiate disc golfers in the country go head-to-head, including Ferris’s own 2024 national singles champion, Benji Zorn,” said Leonard Johnson, Ferris State professor emeritus, a former associate provost and advisor for the disc golf team.
Johnson said Saturday’s competition will feature one round of singles play followed by a team doubles round in the afternoon. He added that the conference includes several big-name schools, including Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan University and more.
“I am super excited for Ferris to have the ability to showcase our championship-level courses at our conference,” said Zorn, a junior from Grand Rapids majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Professional Sales. “I can’t wait to take the momentum that we ended with last year and transition it into a new season.”
This Professional Disc Golf Association-sanctioned teams’ tournament is an excellent platform to see how the Ferris State disc golf team members perform as part of a strong roster, said Owen Wolfson, a Fremont native and a sophomore dual majoring in Architecture and Construction Management.
“I look forward to seeing how our team changes. We have so many talented players on this team, and I’m ready to see them all shine,” he said. “Look out for this team at any event.”
Further inspiring the Ferris State disc golf team is a strong group of competitors ready to take on the Northend Riverside Park course. Ferris State will feature four complete four-player men’s teams and one complete two-player women’s team this weekend.
The Ferris State disc golf team will have 18 competitors this weekend. The women’s disc golf team features Mikayla Ealy, of Gaylord, and Delaney Beckett, of Macomb.
The Disc golf team’s executive board includes Zorn, Evan McConnell, Wolfson, Ethan Boswell and Beckett. The alum members are Derek Franciosi, Ryan Brophy and Nick Davis.
“This event will have a record-breaking number of Bulldogs competing,” said Boswell, a junior from Holmen, Wisconsin, majoring in Accounting. “It is the first time in the three years I’ve been here where we were able to field four complete men’s teams.”
Ferris State alum Derek Franciosi, a Fall 2023 Television and Digital Media Production graduate, is the event’s tournament director. The West Branch native knows the rich tradition and extensive travels of Ferris State’s team well.
“For years, Ferris has traveled across the country to compete and prove themselves as not only individuals but as a team,” he said. “This year, we showcase that talent on home soil as we host teams from across the Midwest – something we have never done before.”
Hosting this event means a lot to the team.
“I am excited and proud to be able to direct this tournament and have our own Ferris Bulldogs showcase nationally ranked disc golf right here in Big Rapids,” Franciosi said.