Hometown national champs: Dalton State beats lightning delay, tough competition to take NAIA Men's Golf title at Dalton Golf and Country Club

May 24—Playing for a national championship on the course you practice on regularly can be both good and bad, Dalton State College head men's golf coach Ben Rickett said.

"I think there are pros and cons to it," Rickett said. "The course played very different to how it normally played. It really showed its teeth. An event like this is really survival of the fittest."

Playing for a national title at Dalton Golf and Country Club in the final round of the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship on Friday, the Roadrunners proved to be the "fittest."

Dalton State battled stiff competition and a lightning delay that halted action for nearly three hours to win the 2024 NAIA national championship by one stroke over runner-up Texas Wesleyan on Friday. It's the second national title in four years for Dalton State, which won its first in 2021.

"It's incredible," Rickett said after Dalton State was presented with the trophy. "It still hasn't really sunk in at this point."

Dalton State was third in the field after Tuesday's first round. The Roadrunners climbed to second in round two and sat just one stroke behind Texas Wesleyan headed into Friday's final round.

The two teams exchanged the lead a few times during the day, which started at 7 a.m. for some teams due to an effort to beat stormy weather forecasted for Friday afternoon.

Dalton State's Trevor Bassett completed his round on hole 18, but as Steve Kibare was getting set to putt in on 18, three alarm blasts signaled the stoppage in play.

"Actually for me, it came at a good time because I was a nervous wreck at the time," Rickett said.

Play was halted for nearly three hours as rain and thunderstorms moved through the area, but Dalton State got back on the course to close off the win as the skies cleared. Kibare tapped in his putt, then Brock Hoover and Jarod Edwards kept Dalton State in position for the win.

"We were joking during the delay about it being the last putt of his career," Rickett said of Kibare.

Jack Whaley missed his first putt on the par-4 18th, but he tapped in for a bogey to clinch the one-stroke win over Texas Wesleyan, and his teammates mobbed Whaley and Rickett, splashing them with bottled water as the team celebrated the program's second national title.

Dalton State finished at 30-over for the four-round tournament, while Texas Wesleyan was right behind at 31-over. Keiser was third at 40-over.

Whaley finished as the top individual scorer for Dalton State, shooting 3-over for a tie for fourth place in the individual standings. Texas Wesleyan's Juan Ricardo Davila Bone was crowned individual medalist after tying with OUAZ's Kolby Shackelford and winning the ensuing playoff.

Dalton State's Hoover finished in a tie for 15th at 9-over. Hoover and Whaley were named to the all-tournament team. Edwards tied for 17th, Bassett was tied for 32nd and Kibare finished in a tie for 37th.

For Kibare and Bassett, the win marked bookending national titles for their collegiate careers. They were both freshmen on the 2021 national title team. Dalton State has another pair of seniors in Edwards and Brandon Boncore who joined the program later.

"You've got four incredible seniors who put so much into this program," Rickett said.

The tournament was hosted by Dalton State at the country club after the program put in a bid with the NAIA two years ago. Staff and volunteers from Dalton State, Dalton Golf and Country Club and others in the Dalton community helped organize the tournament.

"This doesn't happen without tons of people helping to put on a show to make sure these kids feel special," Rickett said.

The decision to seek the right to host the championship paid off in another way too. Dalton State got to celebrate a national title in its own hometown.

"To do this in front of family and friends is special," Rickett said. "It's like nothing I've ever experienced before."