By Colton Pankiewicz, Assistant Sports Editor
After finishing in sixth place as a team last fall, the Golden Griffins returned to Florida last weekend to compete in the MAAC championship.
Mike Donner, and Shane Broad led Canisius last year, posting top five finishes, and earning All-MAAC honors but this year it was the sophomore Ryan Edholm who led both the Griffs, and most of the field after his three round performance.
Sophomore Ryan Edholm finished the tournament with a 216 stroke total, marking the lowest three round MAAC Championship score in Canisius’ history
Edholm, who placed dead last for the Griffs in the MAAC’s as a freshman, flipped the script in his second year.
“It meant a lot to come back after last year and post the number I did. I played terribly last year and let the team down a little in my opinion, so it meant a lot to come back and help the boys out,” said Edholm.
Canisius came out of the gates on Friday shooting a 296, finishing three strokes better than their Friday last year.
Sophomore Ben Ramold started hot shooting a 73 (+1), while teammates Edholm and Broad followed closely behind with 74’s (+2) respectively.
It was over days two and three where Edholm posted a combined five birdies and an Eagle while holding himself to just three bogeys, finishing the tournament even par, and tying for a fifth place finish.
Senior standout Shane Broad ended his collegiate career placing 20th in the tournament after finishing with a combined total of 222, marking back to back to back MAAC Championships that he finished in the top 20.
Reflecting on his four years with the Griffs, Broad said “Being at Canisius meant a lot, especially playing on this team. Throughout my years, we’ve had a really good group of guys where we could all hangout, and joke around but be serious when practice and tournaments rolled around. Having the opportunity to experience this type of atmosphere on a team, and showing my true potential on the golf course is all I could ask for.”
Canisius finished with a 902 stroke total while Siena took home the trophy with a total score of 857. Fairfield’s Killian McGinley placed first individually, finishing with a 210 stroke total after shooting a 68, highlighted by a 68 (-4), and 65 (-7) through days one and two.