Posted by Scott Cummings - Wed, May 14, 2008 - [ Men's Golf ] - Viewed 1350 times
Luke Heyer
Luke Heyer

(LEBANON, Ill.)-The William Woods University men's golf program rolled to the championship of the American Midwest Conference Tournament, which was held in conjunction with the NAIA Region V and Heart of America Athletic Conference championships. The three-round event was played at Paradise Point Golf Club in Smithville, Mo.

The Owls posted a 54-hole score of 908 to finish 29 strokes in front of runner-up McKendree University for the title. Missouri Baptist University took third place, followed by the University of Illinois at Springfield and Hannibal-LaGrange College. William Woods led from start to finish, recording an opening-round 299 and leading with a score of 597 after two rounds.

William Woods senior Luke Heyer was honored as the 2008 AMC Men's Golf Player of the Year after winning the conference tournament individual crown. Heyer, a senior from Webster Groves, Mo., shot 223 over 54 holes to win the event by one stroke over teammate Mark Burlison.

The 2008 AMC Newcomer of the Year, giving to the league's top transfer player, was given to Scott Belcher from Illinois-Springfield. A junior from Jacksonville, Ill., Belcher tied for third at the AMC meet with a score of 228. Earning AMC Freshman of the Year honors was Allen Kohnen from McKendree. Kohnen, who hails from Germantown, Ill., finished in a three-way tie for 11th place by shooting 240 over the 54-hole event.

For guiding the Owls to the AMC Tournament championship, William Woods head coach Barry Doty was selected as the 2008 AMC Men's Golf Coach of the Year.

The complete list of 2008 AMC Men's Golf award winners can be found below, along with the final team and individual results.

2008 AMC All-Conference Honors
AMC Player of the Year: Luke Heyer, William Woods University (Senior from Webster Groves, Mo.)
AMC Newcomer of the Year: Scott Belcher, University of Illinois at Springfield (Junior from Jacksonville, Ill.)
AMC Freshman of the Year: Allen Kohnen, McKendree University (Freshman from Germantown, Ill.)

AMC Coach of the Year: Barry Doty, William Woods University

2008 AMC Men's Golf Championship
Paradise Point G.C. – Smithville, Mo.
TEAM RESULTS
William Woods University                         299-298-311-908
McKendree University                                313-309-315-937
Missouri Baptist University                       319-313-320-952
University of Illinois at Springfield            339-317-329-985
Hannibal-LaGrange College                    337-329-351-1017

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (* Denotes All-Conference Player)
*Luke Heyer, William Woods                   71-75-77-223
*Mark Burlison, William Woods               73-73-78-224
*Justin Mueller, McKendree                     76-72-80-228
*Scott Belcher, Illinois-Springfield           79-73-76-228
*Kyle Jasper, Missouri Baptist                 76-75-81-232
*Austin Waibel, William Woods               79-78-77-234
*Gabe George, William Woods                77-72-85-234
*Steve Moore, McKendree                         81-75-78-234
*Zach Daugherty, Missouri Baptist          81-77-77-235
*Mike Speicher, McKendree                     78-83-78-239
Kyle Kovar, William Woods                      78-83-79-240
Rich Francis, McKendree                         81-79-80-240
Allen Kohnen, McKendree                        78-83-79-240
Austin Rhodes, Missouri Baptist            83-78-80-241
Keith Evans, Illinois-Springfield              81-81-81-243
Blake McDowell, Missouri Baptist          79-83-82-244
Joshua Langer, Illinois-Springfield         84-78-86-248
Brandon Kiesling, Hannibal-LaGrange  81-79-91-251
Aaron Long, Hannibal-LaGrange             87-80-88-255
Justin Perry, Hannibal-LaGrange            81-86-89-256
Chad Reading, Hannibal-LaGrange       95-84-83-262
David Call, Illinois-Springfield                  95-85-86-266
Alex Brandenburg, Hannibal-LaGrange  88-91-95-266

Tyler Peasel, Missouri Baptist                n/s-n/s-82-82