Montero, Dukes Take Home Trophies at Jackrabbit Invitational

Friday, March 8

Boulder Creek Golf Club | Las Vegas, Nev.

James Madison University

2019 Jackrabbit Invitational

Montero, Dukes Take Home Trophies at Jackrabbit Invitational

3/9/2019 10:06:00 PM | Men's Golf

@JMUMGolf JMU MG on Instagram Final Results

BOULDER CITY, Nev. - Sophomore Ignacio Montero took home medalist honors to lead the James Madison men's golf team to its second title of the season on Saturday afternoon, as the Dukes captured both team and individual victories at the 2019 Jackrabbit Invitational, hosted by South Dakota State at the par-72, 7,402-yard Boulder Creek Golf Club.

Montero continued his great play in his final round, tying for the low round on the day with a 4-under 68 that included six more birdies, bringing his weekend total to 18 across three rounds at the 89-player event. The 13-under par performance was Montero's career low for 54 holes and the second-lowest 54-hole score to par in program history, trailing only Ryan Cole's 14-under 202 at the 2016 NCAA Nashville Regional.

As a team, the Dukes extended their lead in the final round, carding the only under-par round in the field with a 1-under 287 that pushed their winning margin to 24 strokes over second-place Texas State in the 14-team field. The win is their second of the season, after a victory at the River Run Collegiate on Sept. 24-25, 2018.

Freshman George Heath and junior Ryan Cox each joined Montero in the top 10, finishing tied for 10th at 222 (+6). Cox racked up 14 pars on his way to an even-par 72 in his final round, while Heath posted a 3-over 75 in his last loop of the weekend.

Junior Walker Cress carded an even-par 72 to close out the JMU scoring on the day, finishing in a tie for 24th at 224 (+8), while freshman Nick Schlickenrieder finished in a tie for 18th, posting a final-round 76 (+4)

Playing as an individual, senior Ben Tucker posted his first career top-five finish and the sixth top-10 of his time at JMU, finishing in sole possession of third after a final-round 70 (-2) that closed his weekend at 217 (+1).

QUOTING COACH FORBES
"Obviously, we're very happy to get the win today and happy for Nacho picking up his first individual win. You don't get a win like this without performances all the way down the lineup and this is the kind of depth we're going to need to accomplish what we want to this season. We're looking forward to building on this as we hit the stretch run in the spring."

UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back in action in two weeks, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take part in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate, hosted by UNC at UNC Finley Golf Club on March 23-24.