Picken places 3rd at Region 4 Championship, qualifies for nationals

BYRON — Tyler Picken punched his ticket to nationals.

The Carl Sandburg College men's golf sophomore finished third overall at the Region 4 Championship on Tuesday at PrairieView, clinching an entry to the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship in May. Additionally, Picken was joined on the All-Region 4 team by teammate Logan Beers, who finished ninth individually. All-region honors were awarded to the top 15 finishers.

Spots in the national tournament were awarded to the top three teams and top three individuals not from those teams. Picken was inside that line throughout the 54-hole tournament, shooting 77 on Sunday and 78 on Monday before closing with a 3-over-par 75. 

Picken finished at 14 over for the tournament, putting him two shots behind runner-up Oskar Akerlind of Highland and five back of champion Mason Steinert of Black Hawk. The tournament marked the sixth time Picken has placed in the top five of an event this season.

Picken will compete at nationals May 21-24 at Twin Hills in Joplin, Mo. This marks the 12th year in a row and 16th time in the last 17 seasons that Sandburg men's golf has advanced an individual or qualified as a team to the national tournament.

Beers matched Picken's first-round 77 and shot a team-low 74 on Tuesday, finishing at 21 over for the championship and alone in ninth place. He ended up five shots off the pace of the final individual national qualifying spot.

Sandburg ended the tournament in sixth place as a team. The Chargers were in second place after shooting a 323 in the opening round before closing with rounds of 341 and 322 for a 986 total. Black Hawk won the region title with a score of 945. Madison (955) and Oakton (958) earned the other two team entries to nationals. 

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