JACKSONVILLE, NC- VSU's young and promising Men's Golf team ends the 2023 Season finishing fourth at the CIAA Golf Championship today.
 
Final Score Totals | All Scores
Juan Ruiz-Patino: 71, 75, 79 | 225 (+9)
Tylen Wallace: 78, 82, 79 | 239 (+23)
Esteban Arango Suarez: 79, 79, 82 | 240 (+24)
Michael Ebosh: 83, 77, 82 | 242 (+26)
Aidan Robertson: 84, 81, 78 | 243 (+27)
Combined Team Total: 941 (+77)`
 
The Trojans have progressed tremendously under the leadership of second-year head coach and VSU alum Justin Parker who was a dual sport athlete on the Football and Golf team at Virginia State.
 
The five student-athletes that represented VSU in this year's conference championship consisted of two sophomores and three freshmen.
 
"I am very proud of how our team performed in the 2023 CIAA Championship," said Parker. "We shot three of the top five scores of the semester, which was fantastic. Our guys stayed focused, and the results showed. We can't wait to do even better next year."
 
Trojan veteran Juan Ruiz-Patino led VSU in scoring after recording his first collegiate under-par performance on Day One of Championship play. He was named to the All-CIAA team at the post Championship reception. The Colombia native finished the opening day in 71 strokes (+2) to lock down a position at the number four spot on the overall Championship leaderboard. 
 
Ruiz-Patino is a senior in the classroom but a sophomore on the course alongside fellow sophomore Esteban Arango Suarez. The Trojans have the potential to bring back all five guys next year.
 
"It was really good," said Ruiz-Patino. "I feel like I could've done a little bit better at some points but I'm definitely happy with the results. It's a process where you have to keep going and I'm happy with what I did today and I'm comfortable knowing I can play better tomorrow."


 
Freshman Michael Ebosh opened up the 2023 CIAA Championship taking the first swing of the day. 
 
From a leadership perspective, the Trojans couldn't have been prouder of Saturday's start after freshman Aiden Robertson and Tylen Wallace started the day with birdies on their first hole.
 
"Making birdie on the first hole of the round felt good, it put my mindset in the right place and helped me stay focused," said Robertson. Robertson saw the biggest improvement in play from the opening round to his final round score of 78.
 
"After I made a birdie on my first hole it gave me a boost of confidence for the round," said Wallace. Wallace also ended both days with birdies. 
 
Coach Parker and Assistant Coach Grim are excited about the direction this team is driving towards and the two young men they're bringing in to help get the job done next season alongside their core group from this year. 
 
For more information on VSU Athletics, follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports, or call 804-524-5030.