2026 Men's Golf National Runner-Up Team Photo

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Illinois Wesleyan Men’s Golf Earns Runner-Up at National Championship

Second consecutive runner-up finish

5/15/2026 4:17:00 PM

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - The No. 9 Illinois Wesleyan University men's golf team claimed runner-up honors at the 2026 Division III Men's Golf National Championship for the second straight season. The Titans posted a final round of eight-under 280, but fell to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a sudden-death playoff at the 6778-yard, par 72 El Campeon Golf Course at Mission Inn Resort + Club Friday, May 15.

In the second-to-last grouping, CMS posted the low round of the tournament, an incredible 15-under, 273 to give the Titans control of their own destiny down the final stretch. With IWU and CMS tied at 13-under for the week, the Stags and Titans headed into a sudden-death playoff.

In the first team playoff for a national championship in Division III men's golf history, all five players from both teams went back to the 18th tee. CMS ultimately won the five-man playoff. The Stags' Sebi Aliaga was the individual national champion, posting a 10-under total.

In his championship debut, sophomore Pablo Castro (Palatine, Ill.-Palatine) advanced the streak to four consecutive years with a Titan finishing in the top-10 at the national championship. Castro recorded a final round three-under par 69 to aid the Titans to victory. Castro placed in a tie for seventh and posted a new career-low 72-hole total of four-under, 283.

The senior trio of Juney Bai (Mokena, Ill.-Lincoln Way-Central), Aidan Healy (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln Way-West), and Michael Spitzer (Hinsdale, Ill.-Hinsdale) ended their career with two consecutive runner-up finishes. Spitzer finished with three birdies and no bogeys in the final nine holes to shoot a one-under 71 and finish at one-under for the tournament. For the third consecutive season, Spitzer finished in the top-20 in the nation, this year in a tie for 18th-place.

Freshman Ryan Andrews (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) finished in a tie for 20th-place, establishing the best finish by an IWU freshman at the national championship in program history. Andrews 72-hole score of even-par 287 is the best of his career.

Additionally, Bai recorded the best finish of his career in his fourth national championship appearance. With a one-over par total of 288, Bai established a new career 72-hole low score and finished in a tie for 24th. Healy's final round of two-under par 70 helped the Titans reach the sudden-death playoff, while his total score of 293 placed him in a tie for 43rd.

Castro was named a PING First Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America, announced at the conclusion of the championship. The sophomore was one of eight individuals from Division III to be selected. Castro is the first since Rob Wuethrich and Jimmy Morton in 2021 to be honored on the First Team.

The Titans have hung four banners in the Shirk Center rafters since their first national championship victory in 2019. The Green and White went back-to-back in 2019 and 2021 and then finished runner-up at the 2025 and 2026 national championships.

The runner-up finish marks the end of the illustrious careers of Bai, Spitzer, Healy, Nate Bibbey (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), and Myles Lahart (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South). Castro, Andrews, and 13 additional underclassmen are set to return for the 2026-27 campaign.

IWU Individual Standings
T7. Pablo Castro 73-69-72-69=283
T18. Michael Spitzer 73-71-71-71=286
T20. Ryan Andrews 70-73-74-70=287
T24. Juney Bai 73-70-71-74=288
T43. Aidan Healy 72-69-82-70=293

Team Standings
*winner of sudden-death playoff

T1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 284-288-290-273=1135*
T1. Illinois Wesleyan 288-279-288-280=1135
3. Aurora 288-291-283-281=1143
4. Sewanee 293-291-288-280=1152
5. Methodist 284-291-291-284=1154
T6. Washington and Lee 290-280-290+295=1155
T6. Kenyon 286-291-284-294=1155
8. Carnegie Mellon 281-290-292-293=1156
9. Emory 288-288-295-291=1162
10. Huntingdon 297-288-288-291=1164
11. Mary Hardin-Baylor 289-296-283-297=1165
12. LeTourneau 292-298-292-289=1171
13. Guilford 299-295-288-297=1179
14. Dubuque 300-285-295-300=1180
15. Drew 297-293-302-291=1183
16. Oglethorpe 291-292-307-294=1184
17. Transylvania 291-307-298-294=1190
18. John Carroll 295-296-307-294=1192

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