MONTICELLO, Minn. – The No. 29 Gustavus men's golf team posted the best second round of the SJU Spring Invitational by seven strokes to jump into first place in the 15-team field, carding a 278 on Sunday, April 27 at Monticello Country Club (par 71). 

Three Gusties shot a three-under par 68 on day two, with all five members of the first team finishing in the event's top 20, and three in the top 10. Gustavus fielded two teams and three individuals, with the second team finishing fifth overall. The Gustie "A" team posted a 296-279-574 for its fourth tournament win of the 2024-25 season. The host Johnnies finished second, two strokes behind the Gusties, with a two-round total of 576. Bethel was 16 shots behind Saint John's in second and 18 behind the Gusties. SJU's Tim Fultz won the event with a 68-73-141, just one stroke ahead of Jimmy Abdo and Chris Gutuza.

"What a great weekend for our team and a special one for our seniors. I can't think of a better way for them to go out than winning our final two tournaments," said head coach Scott Moe '95. "Four tournament wins in a year is pretty awesome. Very proud of all of our guys for how hard they battled and pulled for each other down the stretch."

Abdo (Fy., Edina, Minn.) and Gutuza (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa) both jumped up the leaderboard to lead the Gusties to victory on day one, contributing two of three 68s on Sunday. Abdo shot par or under on 16 of 18 holes, collecting six birdies and 10 pars on Sunday. The reigning MIAC Athlete of the Week posted a three-under 33 on the back nine, and finished the weekend one-under par. Sunday's 68 was the best round of his collegiate career thus far. 

Gutuza, meanwhile, posted four four-shot birdies and 13 pars to share second overall with Abdo. The 68 was the second of the season for the junior, who collected the same score to win the Williams Fall Invitational in September. 

Pelayo Perez Crespo (Jr., Sotogrande, Spain) finished ninth overall, posting a 75 with a four-shot birdie on day two. Both Jack Reinardy (Sr., Andover, Minn.) and Teddy Kaste (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) carded a three-shot eagle in what could be their final weekend of collegiate golf. Kaste moved up 28 spots with a season- and career-best 68 in round two to finish 12th overall, while Reinardy took 18th with a two-round total of 151 (+8). Kaste led the tournament with a total of 26 pars, one more than teammate Gutza. 

Blake Forrest (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) led the Gustie second team, finishing 12th overall with a 147. Forrest carded a 75 on Sunday with four birdies. Caleb McBee (Sr., Glendale, Ariz.) moved up seven spots on day two with a three-shot eagle and trio of birdies for a season- and career-best 72. Both Cameron Longie (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) and Aradheea Gawade (Fy., Mumbai, India) took 40th overall, while Tommy Hiniker (5th, Edina, Minn.) carded a 79 in his final round of golf for the Gusties.

For the three Gustie individuals, Wyatt Carlson (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) ended 15th overall, carding a one-under 70 with four birdies and 12 pars. Cole Paulson (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) finished 51st, followed by Tomas Rohrborn (Sr., Santiago, Chile) in 66th.

"It was a great comeback win today," Moe added. "Teddy [Kaste] made a huge birdie on his last hole, Chris [Gutuza] burned his final hole, and JR [Jack Reinardy] had an eagle, a birdie, and a great up-and-down on his final hole. It was a great runner-up finish for Jimmy [Abdo] and Chris. A lot of great things to be proud of, but extra proud of our seniors and how they are leaving our program in such great shape. 

"It's always a bittersweet final day, but seeing the hugs and smiles after a team victory is pretty special for everyone. Unsure if we have a chance at an at-large bid, but knowing we did everything we possibly could makes you feel pretty good."

The Gusties were featured at No. 29 in the latest Scoreboard by clippd National Collegiate Golf Rankings. Gustavus was the highest-ranked team competing at SJU's tournament this weekend, and will await the selections to the NCAA Division III Championships, set to take place May 20-23 in Penfield, N.Y. 

A total of nine additional teams get at-large bids, as well as 34 automatic conference champion qualifiers. The Gusties were the third-ranked team in the NCAA's Region VI behind Aurora (Ill.) and UW-Eau Claire. Neither team has completed its conference championship as of Sunday (April 27). The NACC championship concludes April 28, while the WIAC tournament takes place May 5-6, but the winner is not granted an automatic qualifier to the national tournament. The Gusties finished 15 strokes ahead of UWEC at last weekend's Bobby Krig Invite. Carleton, which placed fourth at Saint John's, earned the MIAC's automatic bid earlier this season.