By Ryan Keith 15

SIUC men’s golf coach Leroy Newton views his team’s fifth-place finish Saturday at the 24th annual Northern Iowa Classic in Marion, Iowa, as bittersweet.

The Salukis finished fifth in a 13-team tournament field with a three-round total of 940. That finish is the highest for the Salukis this season, and comes one week after they placed 16th in an 18-team field at the D.A. Weibring Intercollegiate at Illinois State University in Normal.

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SIUC opened the tournament by firing a team score of 314 and closed out Friday afternoon by shooting a 315. The Salukis then returned to the par-72 course Saturday with their lowest score of 311 for SIUC’s best performance of the year.

But Newton said his team could have finished higher had its members played more consistently.

We were tickled to death to get fifth, but realistically, we could have gotten third, Newton said. The kids are starting to play. As soon as I figure out which five are going to play the best, we’re in the hunt.

We just didn’t put three rounds together like we’re capable of. But we’re getting close.

The finish was also a slight disappointment for Craig Castrale, a junior from West Frankfort.

I was pretty happy with the finish, Castrale said. But if we had been four shots better as a team, we would have finished third. If everybody could have played well, we could have won the tournament.

The University of Northern Iowa captured the team title with a three-round total of 918. The Panthers shot 295, 315 and 308 in following up their win at Illinois State one week earlier.

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DePaul University fired a 931 for second place, while Indian Hills Community College used a 936 to finish third. Missouri Valley Conference team finishes included Southwest Missouri State University in fourth with a 938, Illinois State in sixth with a 943 and Creighton University in 10th with a 963.

The Salukis were led individually for the fourth time this season by senior John Raski, who fired a three-round total of 229 to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. Raski opened the tournament Friday with a 71 before finishing with scores of 78 and 80.

While Newton was pleased with Raski’s play, he said the Herrin native had a chance at bringing home the tournament’s medalist honors.

John (Raski) had a couple of bad holes, or he could have won the tournament completely, Newton said. He hit a couple of balls in the water that he ordinarily doesn’t do.

Kory Neisen and Castrale each fired a 240 to finish in a tie for 28th place. Neisen shot rounds of 90, 77 and 73, while Castrale shot an 82, 82 and 76. Ryan Pickett fired a 242 to finish in 36th, while Brad Kerr rounded out the Salukis’ effort with a tie for 38th at 245.

Castrale said strong winds Friday and poor execution on his short game prevented him from a better finish.

I played good, I just putted really bad, Castrale said. The weather was nice, except for the 40 mph winds. It was a consistent wind, but every hole is a different direction.

The Salukis travel to Peoria Sunday and Monday for the Bradley University Fall Classic.