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SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s golf team competes in the 2025 MIAC Championships, this weekend, September 27th through September 29th at Edinburgh Golf Course (par-72) in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The Gustie team, compiled of Jimmy Abdo (So., Edina, Minn.), Christopher Gutuza (Sr., Johannesburg, South Africa), Wyatt Carlson (Sr., Wayzata, Minn.), Blake Forrest (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.), and Sam LaFrenz (Fy., Edina, Minn.) will embark on the course Saturday at 11:12 a.m. to start the MIAC Championships. After the first day, teams will be reseeded and paired according to team standings. The same process will occur for the final day, Monday, September 29th.
Last year, the Gustavus men’s golf team finished 5th overall (298-307-297–902) to shoot +38 overall. Individually, the Gusties were led by Gutuza who finished second individually at the event by shooting a 73-71-71–215 to shoot -1 at Braemar Golf Course in Edina, Minnesota. The team has a long history of success current and past, finishing in the top five in the last 11 years of the MIAC Championships and leads the conference with 26 championships, 11 more than Saint John’s, who is in second place with 15. The Gusties also own the most individual championships with 29, most recently won by Jacob Pedersen ’22.
So far this season, Gustavus has competed in three events. To start the season, they went to the Minnesota Classic, hosted by Bethel, and won the event with a +6 team score, six shots ahead of second-place Bethel. The Gusties bounced back from a +21 first day and responded with a -1 and -14 team score the next two days, where Gutuza broke the school record with a 63 and the team set the team record with a score of 274, bettering the record of 277, set in 2021 at the MIAC Championship. The second event was the Frank Wrigglesworth Invite, hosted by UW-Eau Claire, where the Gusties finished 7th out of 22 teams. At the event, Saint John’s and St. Olaf both shot lower than the Gusties, shooting +28 and +33 scores, respectively, where the Gusties shot +35. Then, last weekend, the Gustavus ‘A’ team traveled to Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida to compete in the NCAA Preview, hosted by Oglethorpe University. At the event, the team finished 6th overall and Abdo finished eighth individually, shooting -3.
The top ten individual scorers (including ties) at the MIAC Championships will be recognized as the All-Championship Teams and automatically earn All-Conference honors when end-of-season awards are announced in the spring. The team champions will receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Golf Championships in May.
After the MIAC Championships, the Gusties still have two events to round out the fall season, first hosting the Twin Cities Classic from October 4th through October 6th and then playing in the Golfweek Invitational from October 12th through October 14th in Destin, Florida.
