Minot State’s Kasen Rostad finished tied for 17th to lead the Beavers at the NSIC Championships at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Mo., on Sunday, April 19. The Beavers finished ninth overall. Photo courtesy of Diana Stetson/MSU Athletics

Minot State freshman Kasen Rostad shot a final round 76 to finish tied for 17th with a 10-over par final score to lead the men’s golf team during the three-day NSIC Championships at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Mo., to close out the season on Sunday, April 19.

Rostad opened the tournament with a 5-over 77 on Friday and carded his best performance of the weekend the following day, when he shot a 1-over 73. He finished the tournament with seven total birdies and 27 pars.

The Minot State freshman birdied his second hole of the day on the par-5 11th during his final round. Rostad twice birdied the 11th and was 3-over on the par 5s. He made the turn at 1-over on his round after bogies on 13 and 17. He dropped another shot on No. 2 before getting it back with his final birdie of the round on the par-4 4th. Rostad bogeyed the next three holes, but finished with a pair of pars on No. 8 and No. 9.

Over his three rounds, Rostad played the front nine at 7-over par and the back nine at 3-over par. His best stretch of golf came following three consecutive bogeys in the second round. After those opening three bogeys on the first four holes, Rostad finished 2-under par over his last 14 holes, with birdies on 10, 14 and 18.

As a team, the Beavers finished ninth in the 10-team event with a score of 930. They shot a 310 the opening day, followed by a team-best 308 in the second round before closing out the tournament with a 312 on Sunday. Minot State finished 16 strokes in front of Jamestown.

Winona State captured the NSIC Tournament title with an 867, 20 shots ahead of Concordia-St. Paul (887). The Warriors carded a tournament-low 282 on the final day. Winona State was tied for second after the opening round, eight shots back of the Golden Bears. But a second-round low score of 291 catapulted the Warriors into the lead, gaining 13 strokes on Concordia-St. Paul.

Sioux Falls finished third with 888 strokes, followed by Bemidji State (890) and Augustana (896) to round out the top five.

Winona State also captured the individual title, with Max Jericho finishing the tournament at 1-under par. He held off a furious charge from teammate Peyton Coahran, who carded a tournament-best 7-under 65 in the final round to vault 19 spots in the standings and finish at even par. Coahran eagled back-to-back holes and finished the final seven holes at 5-under.

Jericho shot a 3-over 75 in his final round after consecutive 70s in Rounds 1 and 2.

Minot State’s Zach Hendrickson parred nine of his first 10 holes and shot a final round score of 4-over 76 to finish 24th. Gunther Soltvedt shot a 78 to place 36th and Max Karnik had a pair of birdies during his final round, finishing with an 82 to place 43rd and round out the team scoring. Gage Olson shot an 83 and finished 46th.

Rostad led the Beavers in scoring this season with an average round of 75.2, followed closely by Hendrickson at 75.8. Rostad also had the best individual round for Minot State, carding a 69 in the first round of the Jewel Invitational on Sept. 22. He had five of the top eight rounds for the Beavers.