KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore Sean Bonneau led the Keene State College men's golf team by shooting a 159 (78, 81) over two days to finish in 14th place individually while the Owls placed fifth as a team at the event, hosted by the Keene Country Club for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday.

AWARDS CEREMONY

The Rookie of the Year a season ago, the Rhode Island native eagled No. 16 on day two and had five birdies overall on the tournament, including four (No. 2, No. 7, No. 16, and No. 18) on the first day when he shot a 78 (+7) to pace the Owls.  KSC ended the first 18 holes in a tie with Rhode Island College for fifth as a team, shooting a 328, before picking up four strokes on the second day to finish in fifth place alone, four strokes better than the Anchormen.

Freshman Jaxson Roenick finished with a 78 on Thursday to lead KSC and had a two-day total of 160 in his first-ever collegiate championship match.  He had a pair of birdies and eight pars in the round, which included a 38 on the front nine.  Sean McCaffrey improved by six strokes on the second day, recording 10 pars and a birdie.  Ace Chancey (82/85, 167) and Aidan Davis (89/89, 178) rounded out KSC's contingent of five.  Chancey had four birdies over the tournament including three in the first round, but the Owls were hurt by seven holes with triple bogeys or worse over the two days, worsening their score in a field where the fourth-place team (Vermont State University Castleton) was six strokes ahead and third-place Western Connecticut State University was 22 in front.

The University of Southern Maine won their first-ever Little East men's golf championship in program history, edging out defending champion Eastern Connecticut State University by three strokes.  The title was highlighted by a course record 64 (-7) from Jaden Poirier on day one, where the Huskies sprinted out to a 15-stroke lead and were under par (-2) as a team, getting a 72 from Owen Moore, a 73 from Taylor Farr and Alex Grant, and a 75 from Alex Fournier (which was their dropped score).

ECSU rallied on the second day, shooting a 303 as a team and at one point tying the Huskies at plus-25, but USM held on at the end, with Poirier's birdie on No. 16 along with ECSU's triple bogey proving to be a key difference.  Southern Maine finished with a two-day total of 597 (282, 315; +29), edging out the Warriors' 600 (297, 303).  USM had 16 birdies and an eagle among their five golfers on the impressive first day, which was a massive key in securing their first trip to the NCAA championship, which is held in May.

Eastern did retain the individual champion, with Ethan McDaniel surging to the crown with a three-under 68 that included five birdies as he overtook Poirier, who finished even for the tournament (plus-7 on day two).

Keene State was coming off a second-place team finish at the event a season ago at the Riverside Golf Course, challenging ECSU on day one (five strokes behind) before the Ashton Lewis-led Warriors pulled away on the second day.  The Owls shot a 625 as a team, led by Bonneau's Rookie of the Year effort.  This year was the first time in KSC's three years of existence as a golf program that they did not take home the Rookie of the Year – this time it belonged to McDaniel.  The Owls had finished sixth in their inaugural season in 2022-2023 and will look to engineer bounce back in next year's LEC championship.  Four of their five golfers this year were either a sophomore (Bonneau, Chancey, Davis) or freshman (Roenick).

"I am proud of our effort.  We had some bad front nine scores and the guys really fought to hold it together," said KSC head coach Jeff Timmer.  "Obviously we have work to do to compete in the league, but I know we can get it done.  Sometimes when you are the host, the added expectation that you have an advantage makes it harder to just play."

Keene State's contingent (including all five golfers) combined for a 422 on holes No. 1 through No. 9 both days, while the top two had a 371 (USM) and a 378 (ECSU) respectively among their group of five.

The Owls' season continues at the NEIGA Championship at The Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Mass. on the weekend of October 19-20.