Trojans Finish Second at Crossroads League Championships

LACONIA, Ind. – Taylor placed all five individuals inside the top-20, with Noah Ross and Javan Johnson ending in second and third overall, but it was not enough to hold off Marian and secure a seventh-straight Crossroads League Championship, as the Knights rallied past the Trojans on Tuesday to claim the league title.

TU saw its run of six-straight Crossroads League Championships come to an end after finishing just two strokes back of Marian after 54 holes over two days at the Chariot Run Golf Course. Taylor struggled to find or maintain its rhythm throughout the event, seeing its one shot lead evaporate over the final found after shooting a 312 on Tuesday for its highest round of the spring campaign.

Taylor finished with successive rounds of 298, 300 and 312 at the event, marking the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2022-2023 campaign in which the team had shot 300-or-above, after having done so just five times in 24 rounds entering the league championships.

Taylor still appeared poised to overcome the struggles as the final round reached its midway point. TU shot a combined five-over-par on the first hole of the day to surrender its one-shot lead, but rebounded quickly to reclaim a lead over Marian that hovered near double figures at the turn.

Holes nine and 10 proved to be the tipping point in the day however, as Taylor's five went 14-over par over those two holes to fall from the lead. Birdies from Ross and Johnson on the 11th helped stop the slide, but the damage had been done.

The Trojans made one final rally on the 18th, getting birdies from Johnson and Erik Fahlen and benefiting from a MU triple-bogey. The eventual four-shot swing on the final hole narrowed the gap but still left TU two strokes shy of the lead.

Ross followed a 74 and 72 on Monday with a 77 on Tuesday to finish in second place at 223 for his second-straight runner-up finish at the CL Championships. Johnson followed in third at 225, posting a 75 on Tuesday to climb one spot on the leaderboard as the lone Trojan to improve his position on the final day. Fahlen finished in ninth with a 231, while Kyle Kasitz shot a 232 to take 11th and Adam Kasitz carded a 237 to end in 18th.

Ross and Johnson were each named to the Crossroads League All-Tournament Team for their top-five finishes.

No. 6 Taylor (111-6) will now turn its attention toward the 2023 NAIA National Championships, with the expectation of receiving an at-large bid to compete at the Las Sendas Golf Course in Mesa, Arizona on May 16-19.