DANVILLE, Ill. – The No. 2 Parkland College golf team got off to a strong start and never let up as the Cobras won the M-WAC Conference Championship for the sixth straight year at the Danville Country Club on Monday, October 3rd. Parkland started the day with a four-under-par round of 280 at the par-71 course and followed it up with a 290 in the second round for a final score of +2, 570, 33 strokes ahead of second place Danville Area Community College (+35, 603). Freshman Lucas Park brought home the individual title with a two-score round of -3, 139, and three Cobras earned all-conference honors (Park, Roo Fenwick, and Matthew Barker) with their top-5 finishes.
 
"When you have a big lead going into the last round you have to keep the pedal down, hold your lead and not allow the momentum to go sideways on you," Parkland College head coach Corbin Sebens explained after his team won their sixth straight conference title and he was named the 2022 M-WAC Coach of the Year. "We got off to a good start today, got a lead and never relinquished it."
 
The Cobras held a 24-stroke lead after the opening round with a combined score of -4, 280, tied for their lowest first round of the season. Sao Paulo native Lucas Park set the pace for the whole tournament, firing a career-low -5, 66, to lead a pack of Cobras at the front that included Roo Fenwick (67) and Zarak Curley (71). Park (-3, 139) remained in front, as both he and Fenwick (-2, 140) shot 73 in the second round to finish first and second, and sophomore Matthew Barker charged into the top-5 with a -1, 70, the lowest second round of the day, giving him the fourth-place finish. Sophomore Dain Richie (+9, 151) placed 7th, adding another top-10 to his resume, and Zarak Curley (+11, 153) finished in a tie for 11th.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of the boys all day," Sebens said after the championship. "Having won the last five years, the guys could have felt pressure, but they came in confident. This is a difficult course with tough greens and we played disciplined golf all day. I am so proud of Lucas for getting his first college win and for having three guys finish in the top five."
 
Up next, the Cobras enter the off-season ranked No. 2 in the Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA DII Coaches Poll, with the spring season set to begin in early April.
 
Team Leaderboard
Player Leaderboard
 
Team Results
1          Parkland College                    +2        280+290=570
2          Danville Area CC                   +11      308+295=603
3          Heartland CC                          +38      304+302=606
4          Vincennes University             +47      319+296=615
5          Illinois Central College          +79      324+323=647
6          Lewis & Clark CC                  +99      341+326=667
 
Parkland Individual Results
1          Lucas Park                              -3         66+73=139
2          Roo Fenwick                           -2         67+73=140
4          Matthew Barker                      +4        76+70=146
T7        Dain Richie                             +9        77+74=151
T11      Zarak Curley                           +11      71+82=153