There has been no shortage of excellent rounds throughout the storied Valparaiso University men’s golf career of Caleb VanArragon (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine), but the three-time all-conference recipient delivered his best performance to date on the first day of competition during his senior season. He established a new career low in Round 2 to lead Valpo on Sunday at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, hosted by South Dakota State at the par-72, 7375-yard Sage Run Golf Club in Harris, Mich.

How It Happened

• VanArragon carded an even par of 72 in the first round before going six strokes under with a new personal best of 66 in Round 2. He finished the day at 138 and sits tied for second on the player leaderboard entering Monday’s third and final round. VanArragon is tied with South Dakota State’s Matthew Schaefer and is one stroke in back of Toledo’s NJ Botha for individual medalist honors in an 81-player field.
• Two Beacons finished the first day of action in the top 10 as reigning Missouri Valley Conference champion Anthony Delisanti (Sanborn, N.Y. / Niagara Wheatfield) started his sophomore campaign with a 142 through 36 holes. He posted a 73 (+1) in Round 1 before trimming four strokes off that score with a 69 (-3) in the afternoon session. Delisanti is tied for ninth.
• Fifth-year senior Yianni Kostouros (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point [Ball State]) finished the first day of the fall season at 145 (75-70), tied for 18^th on the player leaderboard, giving the Beacons three players in the top 20.
• As a team, Valpo is seventh of 13 with 18 holes remaining. The team score of 301 in the first round was improved to 282 in the second round as the squad finished the day with a 36-hole stroke count of 583. Toledo (567, -9) is atop the team leaderboard.

Inside the Rounds

• VanArragon’s previous 18-hole low of 67 came on Sept. 27, 2021 at the Zach Johnson Invitational.
• The Valpo standout’s 66 in Sunday’s second round ranks tied for fifth in modern program history. He was one stroke away from tying the modern program record of 65, which is shared by four individuals. In terms of 18-hole score in relation to par, VanArragon’s minus-six ranks tied for third in the program record book, one stroke behind the top spot.
• Delisanti turned in an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole in Round 1.
• VanArragon ranks tied for first in the tournament in par-4 scoring average at 3.85, while Delisanti is tied for second on par-5 holes at 4.25.
• Valpo’s top birdie production came from VanArragon with nine, while Delisanti added seven and Kostouros had six.

Thoughts from Head Coach Dave Gring

“With this being our first tournament of the season, there was certainly a level of anxiousness and excitement to get the season rolling. I didn’t feel the guys were tight to start the first round, but we struggled to get into a good rhythm. The skies were sunny, but the morning temps were starting in the low 50s and we had to make quick adjustments to weather that we have not seen in quite a while.”

“What I was most pleased with today was that every nine holes was an improvement over the previous. For the scores that counted, we were plus nine over on our first nine of the day and we worked our way back to playing the final nine holes five under. It was a grind to get the tournament started, but the guys steadily improved throughout the day and showed a lot of perseverance. We always talk about finishing a round strong, and the entire team stepped up to finish the 36-hole day with a lot of birdies.”

“Caleb, Anthony and Yianni played very steady for us all day. The three of them collectively got us to seven under for the first 36 holes and they made 22 birdies. Caleb was just superb and finished his round with four consecutive birdies and a final nine-hole score of five under. He couldn’t get the putts to drop after a lot of good shots in the first 27 holes, but he stuck to his plan. Some terrific ball-striking and solid putts gave him his best round as a Beacon.”

Up Next

The final 18 holes of the tournament will take place on Monday. A link to live scoring via GolfStat is available on ValpoAthletics.com.