K-State Golf Teams Set for Blessings Collegiate Invitational

MANHATTAN, Kan. – With each recording a victory at its home course in the early part of the 2024-25 season, the Kansas State men's and women's golf teams are set to compete in a unique event as the Wildcats take part in Blessings Collegiate Invitational, Monday through Wednesday, at the par-72 Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The event, now in its fifth iteration, will be shown live on GOLF Channel all three days beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The unique format features 10 schools in which both the men's and women's teams play the same course at the same time with a 7,737-yard layout for the men and a 6,501-yard configuration for the women. Each school will have all five members of its team playing the same holes together as there will be 18 holes of competition each day with tee times starting at 9 a.m.

In addition to K-State and host-school Arkansas, the field at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational also includes the men's and women's teams from BYU, Kent State, LSU, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ohio State and Virginia Tech.

The K-State men's squad will feature a lineup of five seniors in Nicklaus Mason, Cooper Schlutz, Kobe Valociek, JP Roller and Ian McCrary.

"We are really excited for the Blessings event this week as, not only is it a great opportunity for us to compete on a tremendous golf course against a really strong field, but we get to showcase our men's and women's golf programs on national television," men's head coach Grant Robbins said. "This golf course will test every area of your game, so it is important for us to put together a good game plan and go out and execute it."

The Wildcat women's scoring lineup will use the same five members as the first two events with seniors Carla Bernat and Sophie Bert along with freshman Nanami Nakashima, junior Noa van Beek and sophomore Alenka Navarro traveling to Arkansas.

"There's nothing better than the opportunity to compete live on the GOLF Channel, especially because we are competing alongside the men's team," head coach Stew Burke said. "What a great way to showcase K-State Golf to a national audience. Both Grant and I know this is a great test to compete against the best teams in the country in a different format on live television. These events are important to showcase the talent of collegiate golf, and we really value the invitation from the University of Arkansas and GOLF Channel's commitment to both women's and men's collegiate golf."

The men's program is coming off a victory in the Wildcat Invitational at Colbert Hills two weeks ago with a 54-hole score of 14-under par 850, 16 shots clear of the second-place team. K-State was led by Mason, who picked up his first collegiate victory at 11-under par 205. It was the lowest 54-hole score of his career and tied for the 15th-lowest in school history.

During the final round of the Wildcat Invitational, Schultz carded a career-low tying score of 8-under par 64, which tied for the third-lowest round in school history and was the lowest round ever by a Wildcat during competition at Colbert Hills. Schultz enters the Blessings Collegiate Invitational with a career stroke average of 71.78, currently the lowest mark in school history. Mason is right behind him at 72.39, which stands as the fourth-lowest mark.

The Wildcat women, who also earned a victory on their home course at the season-opening Powercat Invitational, finished in sixth place last weekend at the weather-shortened, 36-hole Schooner Fall Classic at 1-over par 561. Bert led the Wildcats with a total of 3-under par 137, fueling a seven-spot improvement on the team leaderboard during the second and final round. K-State received four counting scores in the 60s as those four individuals each improved at least 20 spots on the individual leaderboard during the final round.

"Our ladies are coming off of a good week, and I know they're ready to compete for 54 holes this time around," Burke said. "Having such a close-knit team really makes this format a lot more fun as we will play together the whole event. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to coach at the Blessings during the National Championship in 2019. I intend to use the knowledge that I was able to garner from that championship to put together a great plan for the ladies to execute throughout the week. I am really excited about the opportunity that lies ahead."

Bernat and Bert lead the Wildcats with scoring averages of 69.60 and 71.60, respectively. Bert has finished in the top 10 in each event, tying for seventh at the Powercat Invitational and eighth at the Schooner Fall Classic, while Bernat took home the individual title at the Powercat Invitational at 8-under par 208.

Live results of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational will be available on SCOREBOARD Powered by Clippd, with the men's results available here and the women's results available here. GOLF Channel's live coverage will air from 3:30-6:30 p.m., all three days, with online viewing available here.

– k-statesports.com –

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Men's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

K-State Golf Teams Set for Blessings Collegiate Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Nicklaus Mason

Ian McCrary

JP Roller

Kobe Valociek

Kansas State University Athletics