MADISON, Ill. –  For the second time in two weeks, the Vandal men's golf team broke the school record for score under par, beating last week's program record by eight strokes and earned the tournament win, beating the field by 12 strokes.
 
The Vandals were led by co-medalist Sam Johnson who tied for first at 14-under, Joe Sykes, who finished third overall at nine-under and Josh McCartain, who finished seventh for his third top 10 finish in three tournaments this season. Dalton Dean was four-under on Tuesday to jump to a tie for 23rd at two-under and Charley Simpson was 82nd for the weekend.
 
"I'm really proud of the guys this week," head coach David Nuhn said. "I think winning in college golf is hard. Winning two weeks in a row is really hard. To set the program scoring record one week and reset it the following is a testament to our players' efforts every day. They train hard and focus on the important things."
 
Johnson racked up 17 birdies and an eagle during the 54-hole tournament and had rounds of 66 and 68 on day one. He closed with a third-round 65 to tie for the win. Johnson and Weber State's Matthew Wilson played two playoff holes but were named co-medalists after playing both holes even.
 
Sykes started the tournament with a one-under 70 before attacking the course for a second round 65 which included six birdies and no bogeys. He closed with a two-under 69 to finish out his first top five finish of the season. It is his second top five finish in this event after leading Idaho to the win with a fourth-place finish in 2022.
 
McCartain opened the tournament with a first-round 66 and followed with a second-round 69 but closed the tournament with his first round over par all season at one-over 72.  
 
Dean rallied from 49th place entering Tuesday to jump to 23rd after posting a four-under 67 to help push the team to the title. Simpson finished 11-over for the tournament, finishing in 82nd place.
 
"I'm pumped for Sam. He's been knocking on the door for some time, and this win was coming for him," Nuhn said. "It is great to see Joe in the top three as well this week. Josh steady as always, Dalton with a huge final round for us, and Charley has been there with useable scores should we need them at any time. It all matters and this was another total team win. We'll need to build another shelf on our trophy wall."
 
The Vandals entered Tuesday trailing by one stroke but put the foot to gas pedal and ran away with the team title. Idaho finished 31-under par, beating last weekend's school record of 23-under par. Second-place Morehead State was 19-under par and fellow Big Sky Member Weber State closed at 11-under for seventh place. The field was the largest in the tournament's history with 18 teams, in what is becoming one of the top fall mid-major tournaments in the Midwest.
 
The Vandals are off next week before closing out the fall at the Oregon State Invitational on Oct. 14-15 in Salem, Ore.