2025 SEASON PREVIEW
Johnnies return an experienced squad in 2025-26
Experience is not in short supply on the Saint John’s University golf team this season.
The Johnnies return four of five starters from a team that tied for second at the 2024 MIAC Championships and recorded its fourth-best scoring average in program history – a 296.0 in 24 rounds – in 2024-25.
Senior Tim Fultz (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) earned All-MIAC honors after totaling a three-round score of 217 (+1) to finish fourth at the MIAC Championships. He led SJU with two medalist honors and finished second on the team with a 74.0 average in 24 rounds, which was good for fourthbest in the MIAC, including a 73.0 average (+1.88/round) in eight rounds last spring.
Senior Ethan Kress (Woodbury, Minn.) led the team with seven rounds at par or better and finished fourth on the team with a 75.2 scoring average in 24 rounds
this season, two shots behind sophomore Gavin Grahek (Maple Grove, Minn.).
He carded a career- and team-best 66 (-6) Sept. 14 during the first round of SJU's fall invitational at St. Cloud Country Club. The -6 was tied for the second-best round in SJU history.
He was voted All-MIAC by the league's head coaches for the first time in his career in May.
The only freshman to earn All-MIAC honors with a top-10 finish at the MIAC Championships in October, Grahek was 11th in the MIAC – first among all freshmen – with a 75.1 scoring average in 24 rounds. He totaled four top-10 finishes and four rounds at par or better.
Senior Gus Briguet (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) played all 10 events and posted a 76.0 average in 24 rounds. The Johnnies’ lone returning junior, Nate Appelhof (Blaine, Minn./Totino-Grace), looks to carry
over his success from the final leg of the 2024-25 campaign where he averaged a 76.8 over the eight spring rounds.
As a team, SJU received Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) AllAcademic team recognition for the 17thstraight season over the summer. To be eligible for All-Academic Team honors, a college or university must submit the grade points earned and hours attempted for each player on its official squad list for the academic year and carry a team GPA of 3.00 or higher. The Johnnies combined for a 3.30 team GPA to earn the program's 17th honor in the award's 17th year.
Three Johnnies – Fultz, Kress and Andrew Boemer ’25 – earned GCAA All-America Scholar honors. The SJU golf program has now had an All-America Scholar each of the past 26 years, for a total of 53 during that span.
N T H E F I E L D
CHAMPIONS
I N L O G I S T I C S
season preview continued
COACHING STAFF
CHRIS HOWE
Chris Howe starts his third season as the head golf coach at Saint John’s University in 2025.
He took over the job in August of 2023 and led the Johnnies to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Division III national meet in his first season at the helm.
The team then finished second at the MIAC meet the past two seasons. A year ago, then-junior Tim Fultz finished fourth overall and then-freshman Gavin Graham finished ninth.
Senior Andrew Boemer, meanwhile, qualified for the NCAA Division III national meet.
Howe is a St. Cloud native and 1999 graduate of SJU who played both hockey and golf for the Johnnies. He was part of the 1996-97 SJU hockey that advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals. He served as an assistant golf coach at Concordia-Moorhead
for nine seasons (2011-20) and took over as head coach at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the Cobbers to a third-place finish at the 2021 (spring) MIAC Championships and a fourth-place finish that fall.
Two Cobbers earned Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-Region distinction and 13 were All-MIAC during his tenure on staff. He was also the school’s head hockey coach for 13 seasons from 2008 to 2021 - leading the Cobbers to berths in the MIAC playoffs for eightstraight seasons, including a second-place finish in 2020.
Howe was named the 2011 MIAC coach of the year and the program produced three
AllAmericans, three MIAC Player of the Year recipients and 34 All-MIAC honorees during the 13 seasons.
Before taking the job at Concordia, Howe spent five seasons as the top assistant to former head hockey coach John Harrington at SJU, helping lead the program to an 83-40-10 record and two MIAC championships. He had previously served as head coach of the Johnnies’ JV team before becoming an assistant coach at St. Cloud Apollo High School from 2000 to 2002 and a volunteer assistant coach at Division I St. Cloud State in 2002-03.
The St. Cloud Apollo High graduate was also a Central Lakes Conference champion golfer during his prep career and qualified for the state tournament. He has continued to compete in amateur golf, including in the Pine to Palm tournament in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. After his time at Concordia, Howe was a lead instructor at the Minnesota Advancement Program (MAP), which is the Elite division within FHIT Hockey, in the Twin Cities area.
The MAP develops hockey players during the eight months of the offseason and mentors, scouts and recruits players during the four months of their season.
BOEMER AT NATIONALS
Saint John’s senior golfer Andrew Boemer ended his collegiate career on a high note last spring.
The St. Thomas Academy senior qualified for the NCAA Division III national meet, finishing in a two-way tie for 45th out of 225 golfers with a two-day total of 161 (sevenover-par) in the first two rounds of play at Midvale Country Club in Penfeild, New York.
Boemer - who missed the cut in the four-round tournament by just three
shots - started the second round in a tie for 100th following an openinground score of 77 (+5) at Cobblestone Creek Country Club in Victor, N.Y.
He then posted a 2-over par 74 the second day. He opened the round off No. 8 and was 2-under par through the first five holes, thanks to an eagle on the par-5 No. 10 (487 yards), but bogeyed No. 13 and double-bogeyed No. 17. Boemer bounced back with a birdie on No. 1 and closed his
final round with bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7.
The global business leadership major was a 2023-24 GCAA All-District and 202223 and 2023-24 All-MIAC selection.
He ended his career third in program history with a 74.21 scoring average in 89 rounds and his season average of 73.2 in 25 rounds was good for fourth-best all-time.
IMAGE COURTESY OF STOCKTON PHOTO
IMAGE COURTESY OF STOCKTON PHOTO
BACK TO BACK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Saint John’s University won its first NCAA Division III Men’s Golf National Championship with a four-round total of 1,204 (+52) at Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers, Ind.
Clinton Dammann ’08 claimed medalist honors for the first time in his collegiate career with a four-round total of 287 (-1). Dammann (dah-min) claimed the school’s seventh individual national championship in all sports and first since 2001 when wrestler Brandon Novak won the 197-pound weight class at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Andrew Longbella ’07 tied for seventh overall with a total of 302 (+14), followed by Matt Bohlig ’09 and Joe Daly ’09 who tied for 26th with a 310 (+22). Joe Schoolmeesters ’09, the 2007 MIAC Player of the Year, finished with a 315 (+27).
The Johnnies shot rounds of 300, 300, 301 and 303 to finish 12 strokes ahead of second-place La Verne (+64). Ohio Wesleyan (+65), Huntingdon (+75) and Oglethorpe (+83) rounded out the top five.
This is the second consecutive season, and fourth time in the last seven years, that an institution from the 12-state Central Region has won the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship. Nebraska Wesleyan won the title last year, fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Gustavus Adolphus won in 2004
The field of 35 teams was cut to 23 teams after Wednesday’s round with nine-time champion Methodist being eliminated by Salem State in a playoff, 18-19 for the final spot.
The 2007 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships were hosted by Anderson University and the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and held at Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers, Ind., and Prairie View G.C. in Carmel, Ind. Both courses play to a par 72.
Down by eight strokes entering the final round, Saint John’s University shot a 291 (+7) to win its second consecutive NCAA Division III Men’s Golf National Championship at Chateau Elan Resort in Braselton, Ga. in May 2008.
The Johnnies shot rounds of 314, 291, 296 and 291 to finish three strokes ahead of second-place Redlands (+59). St. John Fisher (+63), Methodist (+67) and Skidmore (+68) rounded out the top five.
Joe Schoolmeesters ’09 led the Johnnies with a four-round total of 294 (+10) to finish sixth overall and earn PING All-America first-team honors. Schoolmeesters shot an even-par 71 in Friday’s final round.
Matt Bohlig ’08 tied for 10th overall with a total of 297 (+13), followed by Joe Daly ’09 and Joey ’09 Polingo, who both tied for
19th with a 301 (+17). Bohlig earned secondteam All-America honors, while Daly and Polingo were named to the All-America third team. Polingo collected five birdies to record a 31 on the final nine holes to finish with a two-under par 69 in the final round Friday. Clinton Dammann ’08, last year’s NCAA Division III National Championship medalist, finished with a 319 (+35).
This is the third consecutive season, and fifth time in the last eight years, that an institution from the 12-state Central Region has won the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship. Nebraska Wesleyan won the title in 2006, fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Gustavus Adolphus won in 2004 and Wisconsin-Eau Claire won in 2001.
The 2008 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships were hosted by Emory University and the Gwinnett Sports Commission, and held at Chateau Elan Resort in Braselton, Ga. Both the Chateau and Woodlands courses play to a par 71 and the field of 35 teams was cut to 23 teams after Wednesday’s round.
and Wisconsin-Eau Claire won in 2001.
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 (INDIVIDUAL), 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (INDIVIDUAL) 15 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT APPERANCES
1969, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2021 (SPRING), 2021 (FALL), 2022
2025 ROSTER
Name Yr Hometown High School
NATE APPELHOF JUNIOR BLAINE, MINN. TOTINO-GRACE
BRAXTON BERLIN FRESHMAN LAKE CITY, MINN. LAKE CITY
GUS BRIGUET SENIOR WOODBURY, MINN. EAST RIDGE
MAC DRAKE SOPHOMORE SIOUX FALLS, S.D. O’GORMAN
LUKAS EHMKE FRESHMAN WOODBURY, MINN. EAST RIDGE
COLLIN FOGARTY FRESHMAN PINE ISLAND, MINN. PINE ISLAND
TIM FULTZ SENIOR STILLWATER, MINN. STILLWATER AREA
CHARLIE GIVENS SOPHOMORE SHOREVIEW, MINN. TOTINO-GRACE
GAVIN GRAHEK SOPHOMORE MAPLE GROVE, MINN. MAPLE GROVE
ZACH GUGISBERG FRESHMAN GLENWOOD, MINN. MINNEWASKA AREA
ETHAN KRESS SENIOR WOODBURY, MINN. WOODBURY
RYAN LIVERINGHOUSE FRESHMAN CHAMPLIN, MINN. CHAMPLIN PARK
FCONNOR O’HARA SOPHOMORE GLENVIEW, ILL. GLENBROOK SOUTH
AUSTIN ROLOFF FRESHMAN MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. SPRING LAKE PARK
TIM SEXTON FRESHMAN ROCHESTER, MINN. MAYO
LINCOLN SMITH FRESHMAN MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. SPRING LAKE PARK
MARTY TIMMONS SOPHOMORE BRAINERD, MINN. BRAINERD
FCHARLIE WILLETTE SOPHOMORE EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. EDEN PRAIRIE
DYLAN WILLETTE SOPHOMORE EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. EDEN PRAIRIE
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS
Team
2000
Finish
SEVENTH-PLACE FINISH (54-HOLE TOTAL OF 904, +52)
2001 SEVENTH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1195, +59)
2002 EIGHTH-PLACE FINISH (72HOLE TOTAL OF 1246, +110)
2003 THIRD-PLACE FINISH (72HOLE TOTAL OF 1184, +48)
2004 13TH-PLACE FINISH (72HOLE TOTAL OF 1227, +75)
2005 SIXTH-PLACE FINISH (72HOLE TOTAL OF 1213, +61)
2006 18TH-PLACE FINISH (72HOLE TOTAL OF 1260, +124)
2007 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1204, +52)
2008 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1192, +56)
2009 EIGHTH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1201, +49)
2010 FOURTH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1191, +43)
2011 THIRD-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1180, +28)
2013 SIXTH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1199, +59)
2014 15TH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1223, +71)
2015 RYAN GALLAGHER ‘17
2017 15TH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1224, +72)
2018 19TH-PLACE FINISH (36-HOLE TOTAL OF 608, +32)
2019 21ST-PLACE FINISH (36-HOLE TOTAL OF 623, +47)
2021 15TH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1218, +86)
2022 26TH-PLACE FINISH (36-HOLE TOTAL OF 633, +61)
2023 FIFTH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1160, +8)
2024 12TH-PLACE FINISH (72-HOLE TOTAL OF 1162, +10)
2025 ANDREW BOEMER ‘25
Individual Round (OVERALL)
T1. -4 SAM BERGER (2023, 1ST; PAR 72)
T1. -4 JOEY POLINGO (2009, 1ST; PAR 72)
T1. -4 MATT BOHLIG (2008, 2ND; PAR 71)
T4. -3 SAM BERGER (2023, 4TH; PAR 72)
T4. -3 ANDREW BOEMER (2023, 3RD; PAR 72)
T4. -3 DENNIS GRANATH (2013, 4TH; PAR 71)
T4. -3 MARK GIORGI (2011, 1ST; PAR 72)
T4. -3 MARK GIORGI (2010, 4TH; PAR 72)
T4. -3 SAMMY SCHMITZ (2003, 4TH; PAR 71)
T10. -2 AUSTIN KOTTKE (2018, 2ND; PAR 72)
T10. -2 DENNIS GRANATH (2013, 1ST; PAR 71)
T10. -2 DENNIS GRANATH (2011, 1ST; PAR 72)
T10. -2 CASEY VANGSNESS (2011, 1ST; PAR 72)
T10. -2 JOE DALY (2009, 1ST; PAR 72)
T10. -2 JOEY POLINGO (2008, 4TH; PAR 71)
T10. -2 ANDREW LONGBELLA (2005, 2ND; PAR 72)
T10. -2 NATHAN PROSHEK (2003, 3RD; PAR 71)
T10. -2 SAMMY SCHMITZ (2003, 3RD; PAR 71)
T10. -2 NATHAN PROSHEK (2003, 2ND; PAR 71)
Individual Round (PAR 71, NINE* TOURNAMENTS)
1. -4 MATT BOHLIG (2008, 2ND)
T2. -3 DENNIS GRANATH (2013, 4TH)
T2. -3 SAMMY SCHMITZ (2003, 4TH)
T4. -2 DENNIS GRANATH (2013, 1ST)
T4. -2 JOEY POLINGO (2008, 4TH)
T4. -2 NATHAN PROSHEK (2003, 3RD)
T4. -2 SAMMY SCHMITZ (2003, 3RD)
T4. -2 NATHAN PROSHEK (2003, 2ND)
T10. -1 SAMMY SCHMITZ (2001, 3RD)
T10. -1 ROBERT CLIFF (2001, 1ST)
11. E JOE SCHOOLMEESTERS (2008, 4TH)
T12. +1 DENNIS GRANATH (2010, 1ST)
T12. +1 NATHAN PROSHEK (2003, 4TH)
T12. +1 KYLE FREDRICKSON (2003, 3RD)
T12. +1 MATT MCGOVERN (2001, 4TH)
T12. +1 MATT MCGOVERN (2000, 3RD)
Individual Round
(PAR 72, NINE* TOURNAMENTS)
T1. -4 SAM BERGER (2023, 1ST)
T1. -4 JOEY POLINGO (2009, 1ST)
T3. -3 SAM BERGER (2023, 4TH)
T3. -3 ANDREW BOEMER (2023, 3RD)
T3. -3 MARK GIORGI (2011, 1ST)
T3. -3 MARK GIORGI (2010, 4TH)
T7. -2 AUSTIN KOTTKE (2018, 2ND)
T7. -2 DENNIS GRANATH (2011, 1ST)
T7. -2 CASEY VANGSNESS (2011, 1ST)
T7. -2 JOE DALY (2009, 1ST)
T7. -2 ANDREW LONGBELLA (2005, 2ND)
Team Round (OVERALL)
1. -4, 284 (2023, 1ST; PAR 72)
2. -2, 286 (2011, 1ST; PAR 72)
3. -1, 287 (2024, 3RD; PAR 72)
T4. E, 288 (2024, 4TH; PAR 72)
T4. E, 288 (2009, 1ST; PAR 72)
T6. +1, 289 (2024, 1ST; PAR 72)
T6. +1, 289 (2023, 4TH; PAR 72)
T6. +1, 285 (2003, 3RD; PAR 71)
T9. +3, 291 (2011, 2ND; PAR 72)
T9. +3, 291 (2010, 4TH; PAR 72)
T9. +3, 291 (2010, 3RD; PAR 72)
Team Round (PAR 71, NINE* TOURNAMENTS)
1. +1, 285 (2003, 3RD)
T2. +7, 291 (2008, 4TH)
T2. +7, 291 (2008, 2ND)
4. +8, 292 (2013, 1ST)
T5. +9, 293 (2003, 4TH)
T5. +9, 293 (2000, 3RD)
7. +10, 294 (2013, 4TH)
8. +12, 296 (2008, 3RD)
9. +13, 297 (2001, 3RD)
T10. +15, 299 (2003, 2ND)
T10. +15, 299 (2001, 4TH)
T10. +15, 299 (2001, 1ST)
Team Round (PAR 72, NINE* TOURNAMENTS)
1. -4, 284 (2023, 1ST)
2. -2, 286 (2011, 1ST)
3. -1, 287 (2024, 3RD)
T4. E, 288 (2024, 4TH)
T4. E, 288 (2009, 1ST)
T6. +1, 289 (2024, 1ST)
T6. +1, 289 (2023, 4TH)
T8. +3, 291 (2011, 2ND)
T8. +3, 291 (2010, 4TH)
T8. +3, 291 (2010, 3RD)
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
All-MIAC
1979 RICH HOBAN (FIFTH)
1982 ROB KRAUSE (N/A)
1983 ROB KRAUSE (FIFTH), BRIAN SWEENEY (T-SEVENTH), TIM MCCOLLOW (T-SEVENTH)
1984 BRIAN SWEENEY (MEDALIST)
1985 MARK KRAUSE (SEVENTH)
1986 BRIAN SWEENEY (T-FOURTH)
1987 TOM SWEETMAN (FOURTH)
1988 BILL FITZGERALD (SIXTH)
1989 BILL FITZGERALD (FOURTH), JIM REGAN (SIXTH), JORDAN ANDERSON (NINTH)
1990 JIM REGAN (T-SECOND), ERICK REIM (T-10TH)
1991 DEREK LARSON (THIRD), ERICK REIM (T-FIFTH), TODD KUEPPERS (T-EIGHTH)
1992 ERICK REIM (MEDALIST), DEREK LARSON (T-SEVENTH)
1993 ROSS BULLARD (T-10TH)
1994 BEN STRAUMAN (T-SEVENTH)
1995 AARON SCHMUCKER (10TH)
1996 AARON SCHMUCKER (T-FIFTH)
1997 BRIAN SINOTTE (T-SEVENTH)
1998 CHRIS SHEAREN (T-THIRD)
1999 SAMMY SCHMITZ (SECOND), MATT MCGOVERN (EIGHTH), ROBERT CLIFF (T-NINTH)
2000 MATT MCGOVERN (MEDALIST), PAUL PONATH (T-THIRD), ROBERT CLIFF (T-SIXTH), SAMMY SCHMITZ (T-SIXTH)
2001 SAMMY SCHMITZ (SECOND), JOSH SHERLIN (T-FIFTH), PAUL PONATH (T-NINTH), NATHAN PROSHEK (T-NINTH)
2002 SAMMY SCHMITZ (MEDALIST), NATHAN PROSHEK (T-FIFTH)
2003 JOSH SHERLIN (MEDALIST), NATHAN PROSHEK (T-FIFTH)
2004 CHAD MICHELSON (SECOND), CLINTON DAMMANN (T-EIGHTH)
2005 JOE DALY (MEDALIST), ANDREW LONGBELLA (T-FOURTH), KYLE FREDRICKSON (T-SEVENTH)
2006 JOE SCHOOLMEESTERS (MEDALIST), ANDREW LONGBELLA (THIRD), CLINTON DAMMANN (SIXTH), MATT BOHLIG (T-SEVENTH)
2007 JOE SCHOOLMEESTERS (SECOND), JOEY POLINGO (SEVENTH)
2008 JOE SCHOOLMEESTERS (MEDALIST), BEN VANGSNESS (FOURTH), JOE DALY (FIFTH), JOEY POLINGO (SIXTH), BEN CAHILL (T-SEVENTH)
2009 TONY KROGEN (MEDALIST), MARK GIORGI (T-THIRD), BEN VANGSNESS (T-EIGHTH)
2010 TONY KROGEN (T-THIRD), DENNIS GRANATH (SIXTH), ALEX KLEHR (T-NINTH), CASEY VANGSNESS (T-NINTH)
2011 CASEY VANGSNESS (T-THIRD), DENNIS GRANATH (T-SEVENTH)
2012 DENNIS GRANATH (THIRD), CASEY VANGSNESS (T-FOURTH), DEREK BRINKER (T-EIGHTH), DREW LYNCH (10TH)
2013 BRETT DRAXLER (MEDALIST), CASEY VANGSNESS (T-FOURTH), DREW LYNCH (T-SIXTH)
2014 RYAN GALLAGHER (SECOND), DREW LYNCH (T-EIGHTH), COLLIN SEAL (VOTE)
2015 RYAN GALLAGHER (VOTE)
2016 SAM OLSON (MEDALIST), RYAN GALLAGHER (SECOND), AUSTIN KOTTKE (T-FIFTH), MACK FARLEY (T-NINTH), WES DICKHAUS (VOTE)
2017 JACK KOEHLER (VOTE), MATT LUTZ (T-FOURTH), SAM OLSON (T-EIGHTH), DAVID SCHNEIDER (VOTE)
2018 MATT WAHL (T-SIXTH), DAVID SCHNEIDER (10TH), JACK KOEHLER (VOTE)
2019 PRESTON KOPEL (T-THIRD), DAVID SCHNEIDER (T-EIGHTH), CHARLIE STUCK (T-EIGHTH), MATT WAHL (VOTE)
2021 THOMAS GUTZMER (T-MEDALIST), SPRING SAM BERGER (THIRD), ESTEN STENSRUD (T-FIFTH), GLAVINE SCHUGEL (T-NINTH), NATE LOXTERCAMP (VOTE)
2021 NATE LOXTERCAMP (SECOND), FALL SAM BERGER (T-FOURTH), GLAVINE SCHUGEL (SIXTH), BLAKE SCHULER (T-SEVENTH), THOMAS GUTZMER (10TH)
2022 NATE LOXTERCAMP (MEDALIST), ANDREW BOEMER (THIRD),
SAM BERGER (FOURTH), BLAKE SCHULER (T-EIGHTH), THOMAS GUTZMER (VOTE)
2023 SAM BERGER (FOURTH), ANDREW BOEMER (T-SIXTH), NATE LOXTERCAMP (10TH)
2024 TIM FULTZ (FOURTH), GAVIN GRAHEK (NINTH), ANDREW BOEMER (VOTE), ETHAN KRESS (VOTE)
All-americans
2000 MATT MCGOVERN (THIRD TEAM) SAMMY SCHMITZ (THIRD TEAM)
2001 SAMMY SCHMITZ (THIRD TEAM), ROBERT CLIFF (HONORABLE MENTION)
2002 SAMMY SCHMITZ (SECOND TEAM), NATHAN PROSHEK (HONORABLE MENTION)
2003 NATHAN PROSHEK (FIRST TEAM), SAMMY SCHMITZ (SECOND TEAM)
2004 JOSH SHERLIN (SECOND TEAM)
2005 JOSH SHERLIN (FIRST TEAM), ANDREW LONGBELLA (THIRD TEAM)
2007 CLINTON DAMMANN (FIRST TEAM), ANDREW LONGBELLA (FIRST TEAM)
2008 JOE SCHOOLMEESTERS (FIRST TEAM), MATT BOHLIG (SECOND TEAM), JOE DALY (THIRD TEAM), JOEY POLINGO (THIRD TEAM)
2009 JOE SCHOOLMEESTERS (THIRD TEAM)
2010 MARK GIORGI (SECOND TEAM), BEN VANGSNESS (SECOND TEAM), TONY KROGEN (THIRD TEAM)
2011 DENNIS GRANATH (FIRST TEAM)
2012 DENNIS GRANATH (THIRD TEAM)
2013 CASEY VANGSNESS (FIRST TEAM), DENNIS GRANATH (THIRD TEAM), DREW LYNCH (THIRD TEAM)
2014 TOMMY KOEHLER (HONORABLE MENTION), CASEY VANGSNESS (HONORABLE MENTION)
2015 RYAN GALLAGHER (HONORABLE MENTION)
2017 RYAN GALLAGHER (HONORABLE MENTION)
2018 SAM OLSON (HONORABLE MENTION)
2019 DAVID SCHNEIDER (HONORABLE MENTION)
2020 DAVID SCHNEIDER (HONORABLE MENTION)
2023 SAM BERGER (HONORABLE MENTION)
senior spotlight
ETHAN KRESS
WOODBURY HIGIH SCHOOL
What is your best memory from your time on campus - on the course or off?
Winning the MIAC championship as a team my freshman season.
What - if any - music is part of your pre-game ritual and why?
Country music. It helps get me into the right state of mind.
If you could have any meal for dinner tonight, what would it be and why?
Steak and mashed potatoes. It’s a good mix between high protein and carbs.
TIM FULTZ
STILLWATER HIGH SCHOOL
What were the reasons you chose to come to Saint John’s?
I chose SJU because it felt like a home away from home. My dad (Todd) went here, and he’s brought my sisters and I up to football games for about as long as I can remember. So when it became time to choose a school, it seemed like the most logical fit.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an athlete and how did you overcome it?
I was playing a lot of not-so-great golf my sophomore year. I felt like I was in an unbreakable loop. I overcame this through a lot of help from others. My teammates helped me with the technical problems in
my swing. But most importantly, I received a lot of positive encouragement from my parents and coaches. Ultimately the positive encouragement is what I think helped me the most. Their words reminded me about my life outside of golf, which allowed me to change the perspective that I brought to the course. That’s what made all the difference.
What teammate would you most want riding shotgun on a cross country road trip and why?
Gus (Briguet). He was my roommate freshman year. We could talk about anything for hours. Plus, he doesn’t snore when he sleeps so it would be quiet!
PROUD
SPONSOR AND CONTRACTOR FOR JOHNNIE
ATHLETICS
Here, Your Sport Doesn’t Define You –It Amplifies You
Athletics at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s isn’t just stats and PRs. It’s self-discipline and perseverance and time management and friendships for a lifetime. It’s another tool for student success. And results show it’s a powerful one.
Are you ready to compete as a Bennie or a Johnnie? Come take a closer look –schedule a campus visit today!
LAST SEASON IN PICTURES
golf Facilites
The Alpers Golf Learning Center
The Alpers Golf Learning Center, made possible by generous donations from Saint John’s University golf alumni, is part of the Gagliardi Field complex on the SJU campus. The facility - named in honor of former Johnnie golf coach and current SJU athletic director Bob Alpers - consists of two simulator bays, a chipping green and a putting green. It’s used year-round not only by the golf team, but by the general student body, faculty and staff for practices and simulated rounds of golf.
Blackberry Ridge Golf Course
One of the Finest and Most Beautiful 18-Hole Public Golf Courses in Central Minnesota. Blackberry Ridge Golf Club offers a blend of rolling, wooded terrain, a breathtaking clubhouse, great dining at Grill19, and a stunning venue for your next event. Our course is sure to challenge golfers, delight diners, and dazzle spectators and visitors of all ages.
a sense of connection
That’s what Saint John’s University junior Cole Stencel enjoys most about life in Collegeville.
The connection the physics major on a pre-engineering track feels with his professors and peers in the classroom, the connection he feels with his coaches and teammates on the Johnnies cross country and track and field teams and the connection he feels to the natural beauty that surrounds him each and every day.
“We talk a lot about community here, but it’s really true,” Stencel said. “This is a very tight-knit place. You get to know everyone really well and you form lasting relationships. It’s also a very outdoorsy college, which is something I really enjoy. There are lakes right outside your door. There are acres and acres of woods and trails. I don’t know of any other campus that this many natural resources.”
A Maple River High School graduate, Stencel made the Dean’s List last semester and is also involved in SJU Campus Ministry.
“They really encourage you to get involved in the community here and that’s a good thing,” Stencel said. “Campus life makes up such a big part of the college experience. I’ve met so many people who I know are going to be my friends for a lifetime.”
Stencel’s interest in engineering springs from his father Jay, a civil engineering instructor at South Central College in Mankato.
“That’s how I first got acquainted with the field and the concepts,” said Cole, who plans to attend graduate school, then pursue a career in the mechanical engineering field. “He was the one who told me to check out the kind of jobs that are available and everything engineering entails.
The more I got to know about it, the more it appealed to me.”
Stencel said the individual attention he gets from his professors at SJU is helping prepare him for future success.
“I feel really comfortable here,” he said. “There’s a big sense of belonging. There’s a lot of one-on-one time with the faculty. If I have a question, I feel like I can go to any of my professors and talk it over with them. That means a lot.”
But Stencel said his SJU experience would likely not have been possible were it not for the assistance scholarships have provided. He currently receives the John Drahmann Memorial Scholarship, as well as an academic achievement and alumni referral scholarship.
“That helped cut my bill more than in half right away, which made coming here so much more achievable,” he said.
“I just want to say thank you to all the donors who make it possible for students like me to be immersed in this amazing college experience. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. So I’m extremely grateful.”
golf in the sju j-club hall of honor
Josh Sherlin (Inducted 2025) Josh Sherlin was another of the standouts who helped make the Saint John’s golf team into the national power it is today.
The Minnewaska High School graduate - who won a Class A state title as a junior in the spring of 2000 - made an immediate impact upon arriving at SJU in the fall of 2001.
He finished fifth at that season’s MIAC meet, marking the first of two all-conference honors he’d earn in his collegiate career. Sherlin also went on to become a two-time All-American - as a junior in the spring of 2004 and a senior in the spring of 2005.
And he was the MIAC player of the year in 2004 and ’05.
The Johnnies qualified for the NCAA Division III national meet in all four of his seasons in Collegeville. That included
his sophomore season in the spring of 2003 when SJU tied for third overall – the program’s highest finish to that point.
Nathan Proshek (Inducted 2024)
Nathan Proshek arrived on the SJU campus in the fall of 2000 and made an immediate impact, finishing second overall in his first collegiate competition.
The hits kept coming from there - none greater than in the spring of 2003 when SJU finished third overall at the NCAA Division III national meet, and Proshekthen a junior - shot a four-round score of 284 to place second individually.
That performance came just one month after Proshek had fired a two-round score of 148 to win the Fred B. Kravetz Invitational at the world-famous Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York - the site of four PGA Championships, three U.S. Opens and a Ryder Cup.
Proshek was an All-American honorable mention selection as a sophomore in 2002 and a first-team selection the following year. He earned All-MIAC honors three times and was named conference freshman of the year in the spring of 2021. He also excelled in the classroom, earning All-American Scholar honors in both 2003 and ’04.
Matt McGovern (Inducted 2023) When Matt McGovern, a prep standout at Northfield High School, arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 1997, SJU
had won only one MIAC championship – that coming in 1969 – and had never advanced to the national meet, either at the NAIA or NCAA Division III level.
But, by the time McGovern finished his career in the spring of 2001, the Johnnies had won two more conference titles, earning their first two appearances at the NCAA Division III national meet (finishing seventh in both 2000 and 2001). And McGovern himself had become just the third SJU player since 1979 to earn medalist honors at the MIAC meet – joining Brian Sweeney (1984) and Erick Reim (1992).
After playing through a torn ligament in his left wrist as a sophomore in the fall of 1998, McGovern rebounded to finish eighth at the MIAC meet as a junior in the fall of 1999, helping lead SJU to its first conference crown in 30 years.
He went on to finish in a tie for 13th place
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golf in the sju
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at the national meet in the spring of 2000, earning third-team All-American honors.
Then, as a senior in the fall of 2000, he shot a two-round score of 148 in temperatures below 32 degrees to place first at the MIAC meet, beating his nearest competitor by four strokes as the Johnnies repeated as conference champions and earned their second consecutive national berth.
Joe Schoolmeesters (Inducted 2021) Joe Schoolmeesters ‘09 had a pretty good idea about the level of talent the Saint John’s University golf team was assembling in the latter half of the 21st century’s first decade.
And the Litchfield High School graduate wanted to be part of it too.
Schoolmeesters – who finished second at the Minnesota Class 2A state meet as a junior – was a big name himself. And – thanks in no small part to his own efforts – his premonition about the future would prove spot on.
He ended up becoming the only Johnnie to earn medalist honors at the MIAC meet twice – as a sophomore in 2006 and as a senior in 2008. Sandwiched in between was a second-place finish (by only two shots) as a junior in 2007.
He earned All-America honors twice and was a four-time All-Region honoree.
But more importantly than all that, he played a key role in leading Saint John’s to NCAA Division III titles in 2007 and 2008 – the
only two team national championships outside of football in school history.
Sammy Schmitz (Inducted 2019) Sammy Schmitz ‘03 will be the first to tell you how many other talented golfers helped make it happen.
But there’s no disputing the fact that the Farmington High School graduate played a huge role in Saint John’s University’s transformation into a national golf power.
The only four-time All-American and AllMIAC performer in school history, he was twice named the MIAC Player of the Year.
He earned medalist honors at the conference meet as a senior and finished second on two other occasions. And at nationals, he finished tied for 15th as a freshman and improved his placing every year afterward – capping his career with an eighth-place finish in the spring of 2003.
Schmitz went on to a string of success after leaving SJU, highlighted by his victory at the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
In that tournament, he hit a hole-in-one during his final round. The shot came on the 33rd hole of the championship match, putting him up by three with three holes to go. The shot was just the second hole-in-one on a par 4 in USGA history.
The Mid-Amateur victory earned Schmitz an invitation to play in the 2016 Masters.
• In addition, Hall of Honor inductees John Gagliardi (2018), Jim Smith (2018), Pat Haws (2019) and Terry Haws (2023) all served as head golf coach at one point during their careers in Collegeville.
Bob Alpers (Inducted 2025) The Saint John’s University golf team is now an established national power, having advanced to the NCAA Division III national tournament 21 times in the past 25 years – including back-toback national titles in 2007 and ’08.
But that certainly wasn’t the case when Bob Alpers took over as head coach in the fall of 1993.
The Johnnies’ head coach from 1993 to 2021, and again from 2022 to 2023, Alpers guided SJU to 20 NCAA appearancesincluding back-to-back national titles in 2007 and ’08 - and 13 MIAC titles as head coached. His players earned All-American honors 34 times and GCAA Scholar All-American honors on 49 occasions.
He was named MIAC coach of the year 14 times and Central Region coach of the year six. He was the 2007 Eaton Golf Pride National Coach of the Year in 2007 and a 2010 inductee into the GCAA Hall of Fame.
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