Bruin Disc Golf Club Heads to Nationals
Amid the success of spring sports at George Fox, we can add a non-NCAA club sport to the mix.
The George Fox men’s disc golf team, a non-NCAA club within the Associated Student Community (ASC),qualified for nationals a few weeks ago and will compete against the likes of University of Oregon, Oregon State, Mount Hood Community College and Lane Community college.
The disc golf program is in its inaugural year. Last fall, professional disc golfer Derek Penfield put up posters on campus inviting disc golfers to meet and a club team formed shortly thereafter. Derek used to play for the Oregon Ducks and was familiar with the Oregon league that the George Fox team now competes in monthly.
The team itself consists of student–athletes Spencer Giles, Zach Keimeg, Zach Larsen, Jarrett Payton, and Will Summers. This newborn group competed at Milo McIver State Park a few weeks ago against many of the west coast’s best collegiate disc golf teams. The top 3 non-qualified teams from that event earned a spot at nationals. Fortunately, for George Fox, they placed second among these teams which earned them a spot in the national championship competition.
Now, the team is set to compete in the big event next week in North Augusta, South Carolina. They will fly out next Tuesday en route to the meet in the Palmetto State the following day.
Zach Larsen, a member of the disc golf team and a member of ASC next year, thanks the Associated Student Community for helping the disc golf program hit the ground running. “They pay for a lot of our expenses. They’ve helped us out a lot because most clubs don’t get to travel as much as we do.”
The team has taken a very “DIY” approach as they’ve funded their way to nationals due to the fact that they aren’t an NCAA sport and can’t accept athletic funds. Fortunately, through ASC as well as sponsorship and donations, the men’s disc golf team has created a good support system for this year and for seasons to come.
As for the future, Zach had some words for anyone possibly interested in joining the disc golf team. “The main thing I like to emphasize is that even though we’ve qualified for nationals and we have a competitive team, when we go out and play on Sundays, we just have fun. A lot of people I’ve talked to play disc golf but are intimidated by how serious we are. We like to compete but we also like to just go out there and have fun.”
