The Northern Illinois University men’s golf team finished in fourth place at the 2025 Mid-American Conference Championship at Pinnacle Golf Club as the tournament wrapped up on Tuesday.

“Our goal we set forth at the start of the year was to earn a NCAA Regional bid,” said head coach John Carlson following the final round. “We fell short and the reality of our season ending hurts. It was a joy to coach our two program-changing seniors in Ben Sluzas and Felix Krammer who wrapped up outstanding collegiate careers this week. Craig Long showed how bright our team’s future will be.”

Sophomore Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) was the Huskies’ top finisher at the MAC Championship. Long rebounded from a three-over 39 on the front nine Tuesday with a bogey-free one-under par 35 on the second nine for a two-over par 74. He finished tied for fourth at -2, his best career finish. Long was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team.

Senior Felix Krammer (Waakirchen, Germany/Arkansas State) was the Huskies’ low scorer for the second straight round. Krammer posted an even par round of 72 with two birdies. He was one of seven golfers on the day to post a round of even par or lower. Krammer moved up three spots on the leaderboard into a tie for sixth with a 54-hole score of one-under par 215. His season scoring average of 72.171 is the third-lowest in program history.

Ben Sluzas (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) carded a six-over par 78 in the final round, finishing in 16^th place at six-over par. He did end his NIU career on a high note, making an eagle on the par-five 18^th. Sluzas finishes his career as NIU’s leader in career scoring average at 72.809 over 136 career rounds.

Freshman Beau Petersen (Gretna, Neb./Gretna) finished his first MAC Championship in 24^th place at +8 after carding a seven-over par 79 on Tuesday. Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) posted an 81 in the final round and finished tied for 36^th.

NIU had a team score of 303 on Tuesday, 15 strokes over par. The Huskies were +11 for the tournament, finishing three strokes behind Eastern Michigan who was +8. Kent State won the MAC Championship at -10 with Ball State moving two spots up the leaderboard Tuesday into second place at +6.

This was NIU’s fourth top-five finish of the season. The Huskies won two tournaments in the 2024-25 season at Wisconsin in October and at the Kishwaukee Collegiate on April 5.

“Our 2024-25 NIU golf team will be remembered in the record books for years to come, “ said Carlson.