Erasing the disappointment of the title that got away in 2021, the Central College women’s golf team claims the #5 spot on our countdown of the top sports moments from the 2022-2023 school year.

The Dutch dominated the field in the American Rivers Conference Championship meet on Monday, October 10th, placing four players in the top five and winning the meet by 42 shots.

It was Central’s 11th league crown and the program’s first since 2018. The Dutch posted three consistent rounds to finish with a total score of 936 at the par-71 Ames Golf and Country Club, outdistancing the University of Dubuque who shot 978 in the 54-hole, three-day tourney. Additionally, the Dutch did so with men’s golf coach Mel Blasi stepping in for the league’s coach of the year, Tabitha Schumacher, who gave birth to her first daughter on October 8th.

Sophomore Lydia Grond, Central’s No. 5 player, was the surprise medalist of the league tournament. Grond, who was on the junior varsity squad the season prior and only made her first varsity appearance late in September, soared to win the meet with a 232. Thea Lunning was second at 235, while Delaney Underwood placed third at 236. Mackenzie Biggs found some answers after the first round and surged to fifth place with a 238, and posted the final day’s best round. All four golfers received all-conference honors, marking the third time for Biggs, Underwood, and Lunning. Madison Clark narrowly missed gaining all-conference distinction, finishing 12th at 247. Central led by just four shots after the first round, but expanded the gap to 22 shots after round two and hit the accelerator on the final day of the tournament.

The conference title captured an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships in Florida May 9th-12th, where the Dutch finished 22nd.