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SSU men's golf to host two-round Roger Merb Invitational Monday
Posted: Sep 22, 2024

SSU men's golf to host two-round Roger Merb Invitational Monday

Celebrating a special individual calls for a special tournament that honors said individual.

The men's golf program at Shawnee State will be doing just that throughout the day Monday afternoon -- as the Bears will be back in action at the 36-hole Roger Merb Invitational, which will be played across one day of action Monday at the Elks Country Club in McDermott.

Merb's the Word

The yearly tournament honors Merb, who coached Shawnee State's men's golf program from the inception of the program from the Spring 1989 season to the 2015-16 seasons, and the eight NAIA National Qualifiers that the standout coach produced over his men's golf coaching career.

Overall, Merb coached Dave Augustin -- the NAIA District 22 Player of the Year and the program's first NAIA National Qualifier in 1992, 1992 Mid-Ohio Conference Player of the Year Doug Joseph, 1995 Mid-Ohio Conference Player of the Year and two-time NAIA Qualifier Lanny Rice, 2004 American Mideast Conference Player of the Year and NAIA Qualifier Matt DeHart, and Josh Zornes, who was named as the Mid-South Conference's Male Athlete of the Year in Merb's final season during the 2015-16 campaign.

Additionally, Merb, who won 1997 Mid-Ohio Conference Coach of the Year honors, helped guide the Bears to their first conference championship as a men's golf program that season -- with Rice, Shawnee State Hall of Famers Tony Brown and Bryan Sturgell, and Scott Fleisher and Ryan Groff all contributing as scoring hands in what ultimately ended up being an 11th-place finish nationally for SSU in the 1997 NAIA National Championship Tournament. Brown, who led the Bears with a 13th place finish, was named as an NAIA All-American that year for his efforts.

Along with Shawnee State's run during the 1997 season, the Bears finished as a conference or district runner-up six additional times (1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004) in what ended up being a legendary career for one of Shawnee State's very best to grace the athletic department.

The Field

In all, a total of 83 players will take to the 6,701-yard Elks Country Club Golf Course on Monday from eight different universities. Along with Shawnee State, Georgetown, Kentucky Christian, Mount Vernon Nazarene, Ohio Christian, Pikeville, Rio Grande and West Virginia Tech will all be competing in the tournament, with Shawnee State, Kentucky Christian, Mount Vernon Nazarene and Pikeville fielding 'A' and 'B' teams, Rio Grande fielding a 'B' and 'C' team and West Virginia Tech fielding an 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D' team.

Shawnee State's lineup is as follows:

                                 Shawnee State (A):

                                 Shawnee State (B):

  • Cayden Haislop (Fr., Waverly, Ohio/Eastern Pike High School)
  • Kyle Salamon (Soph., Medina, Ohio/Medina High School
  • Owen Robinson (Fr., Navarre, Ohio/Massillon Washington High School)
  • Brayden Popp (Fr., Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe Southeastern High School)
  • Tanner Castle (Fr., Lowmansville, Ky./Johnson Central High School)

                                 Shawnee State (Ind.):

Of the above group, Stevenson already has two top-10 invitational finishes at the Georgetown Invitational and the Ohio Christian Fall Invitational (sixth and ninth respectively), while Hughes owns eighth and 13th place finishes over the same two events as the pair have continued to improve every time out on the links to start the 2024-25 season.

Ferrell and Cracraft have been consistent scorers for Shawnee State throughout the season as well, with Ferrell shooting the Bears' best two-day score at the Ted Barclay Invitational and Cracraft nabbing 13th and 19th place finishes in each of the Bears' last pair of tournaments.

Monday's competition will also mark the collegiate golfing debuts of Brayden Popp, Tanner Castle and Isaac Doolin.

Additional

Shawnee State Athletics would also like to pay a special tribute to the life of David Morgan, an ardent supporter of golf and sports around the area who passed away at the age of 78 on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Morgan assisted in various aspects to the health of the Elks Country Club Golf Course through personal labor and monetary assistance and is a figure that will be greatly missed. We thank Dave for his support and the opportunities that he helped give to golfers around the area, including those at Shawnee State University.