Dalton State posted a team round of (-7, 277) on Wednesday going wire-to-wire in winning the SSAC Championships at Arrowhead Country Club in Montgomery, Ala. The dominating win is the fourth straight SSAC Championship for the Roadrunners since joining the conference in 2014. The Roadrunners, (+2, 854), finished 35 shots ahead of second place Martin Methodist (Tenn.), (+37, 889).
Blue Mountain (Miss.), (+43, 895) finished in third, followed by (RV) William Carey (Miss.), (+48, 900) in fourth.
Faulkner (Ala.), (+52, 904), jumped up two spots to complete the Top-5 in fifth,
All-American S.M. Lee ran away and hid from the field, claiming the individual medalist honors at 10-under-par. Lee would save his best for last, firing a final round (65) to be the only player under par in the tournament. He would close out the event in style with an eagle at No. 18.
Lee wasn't the only Roadrunners saving his best till the end as senior Dalton Johnson carded the second best round of the day, a 4-under, 67 to finish in second place. A bogey-free round featured birdies at Nos. 3, 5, 6, & 12.
All-American P.J. Shields had another solid round of (+2, 73) to finish in a tie for third with Wade Duke of Mobile (Ala.). The senior from LaFayette, Ga. would make the turn a 1-under and catch another birdie at No. 11, but double-bogeys at Nos. 12 & 13 would hurt his round down the stretch.
Ben Rebne continued his steady play in the second half of the season, posting (+1, 72) to finish in a tie for seventh with Philip Nijoka of Loyola (La.). Rebne would bogey the opening hole, but would play the rest of his round at even-par with two birdies and two bogeys.
Senior Chase Cole closed out with a round of (+4, 75). He would hit the back 9 at 3-over and looked to hit some momentum with a birdie at No. 12, but a triple-bogey at No. 15 would push him to +5 for the round. He would finish strong with a birdie at No. 18 to finish with confidence.
Following the round, Coach Ben Rickett was announced as the SSAC Coach of the Year, while S.M. Lee was named SSAC Player of the Year. This is the second consecutive year both Rickett and Lee have won the award.
#3-ranked Dalton State will have time to rest and hone their skills before they take on the best in the county in the NAIA Championships at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. on May 15-18.