Men's golf team is national runner-up

Throughout the NCAA Division II championship, the University of North Georgia (UNG) men's golf team kept finding ways to scratch and claw to keep its hopes of a national title alive. The Nighthawks rode that relentless determination and clutch play all the way to the final hole of the championship medal match May 25 against Colorado Christian, finishing as national runner-up at Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge in Winter Garden, Florida.

"The character and competitiveness of who those guys are is the reason they have the ability to handle whatever adversity comes at them. The unwavering belief in each other and themselves is overwhelming," head coach Bryson Worley said. "To say I'm proud is an understatement. Our ultimate goal was to win a national championship, but what this entire team has done this season is absolutely extraordinary. It's extremely hard to win in golf, and this team won six events with six different lineups."

Seniors Noah Zediker and Jack Vajda scored individual wins in the championship, which ended up as a 3-2 loss for the Nighthawks.

Two days earlier, UNG used a furious finish after starting the third and final day of stroke play in a tie for 11th to catapult into fifth place, comfortably in the eight-team medal match play bracket.

Then, the Nighthawks opened medal match play the morning of May 24 with a comparatively comfortable 4-1 victory against Coker. On the afternoon of May 24, UNG scored another dramatic finish in a 2-1-2 medal match play win against West Texas A&M.

Junior Hughes Threlkeld stormed back from a three-shot deficit to earn a victory in the semifinals of medal match play versus West Texas A&M. Then, Zediker came back for a draw, while graduate student Will Chambless tallied an eagle on the 17th hole and a birdie on the final hole to secure the match and a spot in the national championship for the Nighthawks.

"Our resiliency really shined through. We never give up, and obviously that showed. I wanted the seniors to go out with a run, and that really motivated me the whole week," Threlkeld said. "I had the utmost belief in everyone during the whole week. I kept reminding myself of the tough finish last year and truly believed that the reason that happened was to prepare us for the moments this week."

On May 23, UNG's golfers combined to go 9-under-par over the final three holes to go from 8-over-par to 1-under-par for the tournament and jump to fifth ahead of medal match play.

It was a historic season for the Nighthawks, who were ranked No. 1 in the nation since the fall, won their first Peach Belt Conference championship and secured their first NCAA South/Southeast Regional title.

It has been a steady upward climb under Worley, hired in June 2018 as director of golf and men's golf head coach. His team qualified for the NCAA regional round in 2021 before making the program's first NCAA championship appearance in 2022, then returning to the NCAA championship in 2023 before an even stronger showing in its third straight NCAA championship this spring.

"Our four seniors poured into building a program that will continue to contend for championships for years to come," Worley said. "Mostly, I'm proud of the relationships and memories. I love these guys."