The men's golf team ranks among the most successful programs in the history of Prairie Fire athletics. Well-coached and with access to unparalleled facilities, Knox has been, without question, the dominant golf program in the Midwest Conference.
The Prairie Fire men's golf team has won several conference titles in the past two decades and has 29 overall, the most in the conference's history. The men's team has achieved a record unparalleled in the history of athletics at Knox, winning 20 conference championships since 1982. In 2020 Knox and the rest of the Midwest Conference foes left the league to join the SLIAC.
Also since 1982, a Knox golfer has secured the conference's individual crown an impressive 16 times. Dave Gardner won individual medalist honors at the conference meet three times (1983-85), while Jim Ramsey (1987-88), Andy Gilbert (1998, 2000), and Ryan Meier (2004-05) have each won two individual titles. Duncan Wheeler '19, James Fenner '14 and Bobby Stuebi '12 are the most recent Prairie Fire men's golfers to win the MWC individual championship. Prior to that Knox won the 2008 conference team title and the Prairie Fire's David Marquardt claimed the individual league crown. Marquardt placed 14th at the 2008 NCAA National Tournament to earn second team All-American honors, becoming the fifth player to achieve that distinction in the history of the program.
The SLIAC offers an automatic qualifier to the NCAA National Tournament, which gives Knox golfers an opportunity to compete at the highest level of Division III competition. The Prairie Fire qualified for the 2008 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship.
Knox golf teams practice and compete at Soangetaha Country Club, a private 18-hole course that is one of the finest in Illinois and has hosted both state and national tournaments in past years. Knox golfers are also allowed unlimited access to the course while in season. When the team is not on Soangetaha's rolling fairways, golfers can use their brand new state-of-the-art indoor golf performance center that was unveiled in the Fall of 2017 by the generosity of numerous golf alumni. This room comes equipped with everything a player could want with a 1,500 sq foot putting green, custom wooden lockers for every player, big-screen television, two teaching cameras and an AboutGolf simulator that is the only of its sort to be approved by the PGA of America.
Prairie Fire golfers have gone on to a wide variety of successful careers. They include Brian Skaret '98 (Economics, Music), an attorney with the Department of Justice. William Baker '92 (International Relations) is the head golf professional at Firefox Resort & Golf Club in West End, North Carolina. Lowell Dixon '65 (Economics and Business Administration) is the vice president of McDonald's. Kyle Vantrease '73 (Economics, Mathematics) is the chief judge of the Second Judicial Circuit of Illinois.
For more information, submit the Recruit Me form or e-mail head coach Brady Kreiter at bjkreiter@knox.edu.
