PLYMOUTH, Ind. - Throughout the spring, Kris Graewin challenged his Iowa Central men's golf team by placing them in high-level events.

Now, Graewin hopes that decision pays off with a strong finish beginning here Tuesday at the NJCAA Div. II Men's Golf Championship. 

The four-day event takes place from Swan Lake Resort. 

Iowa Central secured a team bid by placing second at the Region XI Tournament with a 903 over 54 holes of play. Tomas Ribeiro, a freshman, posted the low score with a 222. He will be joined at nationals by Austin Erickson, Justin Schipper, Joe Forsting and Liam Ross.

"We've had a goal from the start when I took over here and that was to compete at the regional and national level," Graewin said. "We've done the first portion of that and now it's time for us to do the second part."

The Tritons were just two shots back of Kirkwood at regionals, which Graewin says is serving as fuel to the fire.

"It has given the men another taste of hunger for nationals," he added. "They know they had a regional and district title locked up and gave it away, and that's the motivation.

"That is what is going to help propel us into this national tournament."

While Ribeiro led the way at regionals, anyone can post the low score on any given day.

"The thing about this group is their resiliency and how deep we are as a team," Graewin said. "We don't just go 1-2-3 deep; we are deep throughout our entire lineup. 

"We are looking forward to showing that we aren't just one of the top teams in Iowa, but one of the top teams in the country."

South Mountain enters nationals as the No. 1 ranked team followed by Glendale, Paradise Valley, Mesa and Kirkwood. Iowa Central is eighth with three event wins. In 2019, South Mountain claimed its seventh title with Walters State, Mississippi Gulf Coast, Kirkwood and Parkland rounding out the Top-5.

"Nationals for me was my ultimate goal and I think not just for me, but the whole team," Ribeiro said. "We are pretty excited to play and give our best in the field. The team this year was really hard working and I think the results of that showed.

"I'm really confident that we are going to do very well at nationals and who knows maybe we can come with a national title."

Erickson is ranked 22nd in the nation with an adjusted score of 74, Schipper is 33rd , Ribeiro 38th and Forsting 55th.

"I'm very excited to be able to compete at nationals, not only for myself but as a team," Erickson said. "We have worked for this all year and to have it finally come is very exciting for us. There is still work to be done, though. 

"We met one goal but we all have individual and team goals for nationals. We are blessed for the opportunity but we go to work as soon as we get there."

-By Dana Becker