MUSCATINE, Iowa – For the 12th time in program history and the second consecutive, the Luther College Norse are crowned the men’s golf champions of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C). Luther bested the field by 35 strokes, finishing with a three-round conference record total of 891.
Luther saw all five golfers earn All-Conference to lead the field.
Haakon Rustad, posting a 54-hole total of 219 (+6), claimed medalist honors. Teammate
Jay Fjelstul posted back-to-back rounds at even par to finish just one shot back of Rustad (220, +7).
Mark Devlin finished in fourth place with a three-round total of 226 (+13). Coming in seventh place was
Hogan Reuter totaling 233 (+20).
Brandon Dorans finished in ninth place, after falling in the scorecard playoff after finishing with a 234 (+21).
Along with his low medalist honors, Rustad becomes the seventh Norse student-athletes to be named the Conference’s Golfer of the Year - joining Gene Sella (1977), Robert Cassidy (1983), Magnus Hellmark (1995, 1996, 1997), Dean Wilson (1999), Scott Theriault (2000), Andrew Peter (2013), and Ben Phipps (2022). This was Rustad’s first collegiate win.
The Norse fired two scores below 300 on route to a three-day total of 891, that broke the conference record that had stood since 1994 when Central shot an 894 54-hole score. Luther’s victory earned them the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships May 16-19 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
For the 12th time in his career, Luther College head coach
Scott Fjelstul was voted American Rivers Conference Coach of the Year.
Nebraska Wesleyan was right behind Luther in All-Conference golfers with four, as they finished runner-up as a team.
Christian Ghilardi finished in third with a three-round total of 224 (+11) for the championship.
John Lapour finished in sixth place with a 232 (+19) total. Finishing at T-10 was
Tyler Welch and
Nate Vickery, both shooting a 54-hole total of 235 (+22). Welch and Vickery finished in T-10th.
Central College was represented by
Harold Dobernecker who finished the championship with a 54-hole total of 230 (+17).
Brad Buechel of the University of Dubuque charged up the leaderboard on the final day to finish in eighth place (234, +21), after winning the scorecard playoff with Dorans of Luther.
Matthew Turpen was the fifth group to finish on the course on the final day and patiently awaited to see where he stood on the leaderboard where he finished in T-10th place with a three-round total of 235 (+22).
Haakon Rustad
Golfer of the Year
Luther College
Scott Fjelstul
Coach of the Year
Luther College
| 2023 Men’s Golf All-Conference |
| Finish |
Player |
Team |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Total |
Par |
| 1 |
Haakon Rustad |
Luther |
74 |
73 |
72 |
219 |
+6 |
| 2 |
Jay Fjelstul |
Luther |
78 |
71 |
71 |
220 |
+7 |
| 3 |
Christian Ghilardi |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
78 |
74 |
72 |
224 |
+11 |
| 4 |
Mark Devlin |
Luther |
75 |
73 |
78 |
226 |
+13 |
| 5 |
Harold Dobernecker |
Central |
76 |
80 |
74 |
230 |
+17 |
| 6 |
John Lapour |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
77 |
78 |
77 |
232 |
+19 |
| 7 |
Hogan Reuter |
Luther |
82 |
75 |
76 |
233 |
+20 |
| 8 ** |
Brad Beuchel |
Dubuque |
80 |
79 |
75 |
234 |
+21 |
| 9 ** |
Brandon Dorans |
Luther |
76 |
81 |
75 |
234 |
+21 |
| T-10 * |
Tyler Welch |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
79 |
77 |
79 |
235 |
+22 |
| T-10 * |
Matthew Turpen |
Buena Vista |
78 |
77 |
80 |
235 |
+22 |
| T-10 * |
Nate Vickery |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
79 |
82 |
74 |
235 |
+22 |
*ties for 10th are not broken, all receive All-Conference honors at 10th place
**place determined by scorecard playoff |
| Team Standings |
| Finish |
Team |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Total |
| 1* |
Luther |
305 |
292 |
294 |
891 |
| 2 |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
313 |
311 |
302 |
926 |
| 3 |
Central |
312 |
323 |
305 |
940 |
| 4 |
Wartburg |
311 |
318 |
322 |
951 |
| 5 |
Coe |
316 |
323 |
323 |
962 |
| 6 |
Dubuque |
331 |
317 |
317 |
965 |
| 7 |
Buena Vista |
322 |
330 |
322 |
974 |
| 8 |
Simpson |
319 |
345 |
334 |
998 |
| 9 |
Loras |
323 |
335 |
344 |
1002 |
| *54-Hole Conference Record |
