BECKER, Minn. – For all intents and purposes, the Yellowjacket men's golf program is in the midst of an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) dynasty.
 
The Yellowjackets won their first-ever conference title in men's golf in 2018. They followed it with two more titles in 2019 and 2020 (played in spring 2021 due to COVID-19). After losing their stranglehold on the top spot in 2021, the 'Jackets were back on top of the conference in 2022.
 
The 2022 championship brought with it a lot of drama. The Yellowjackets dug themselves a huge hole, only to rally in a huge way Saturday, erasing an 18-stroke deficit to win. In 2023, however, it was the total opposite. This time around the Yellowjackets built up a big cushion on opening day, and it was a hill that was too tough for the rest of the conference to climb.
 
Leading wire-to-wire, the Yellowjackets claimed the 2023 UMAC Championship, defeating runner-up Northwestern by 16 strokes.
 
The Yellowjackets shot scores of 301, 315 and 315 in the three rounds for a team score of 931 on the way to the fifth UMAC title in the last six years.
 
Behind Northwestern was North Central, who finished the weekend with a team score of 951. Crown and Martin Luther rounded out the top five, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Bethany Lutheran finished sixth, while Minnesota Morris was seventh and Northland eighth.
 
Leading the charge for the Yellowjackets was Nate Burke (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld). The junior from Duluth was the top shooter for the Yellowjackets, finishing the weekend with a score of 228, placing him third. He was one stroke away from being part of a playoff to determine the tournament's individual medalist. Burke carded rounds of 72, 77 and 79 on the weekend and led the tournament early on.
 
Right behind Burke was Andrew Rude (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior). The sophomore local product finished the weekend right behind Burke, placing fourth overall. Rude shot rounds of 74, 81 and 75 on the way to a score of 230, placing him fourth.
 
Conner Willard (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) was also in the thick of things this weekend. After shooting 75 Thursday, Willard followed with rounds of 80 and 79 to card a 234 on the weekend. Willard finished the weekend in a tie for sixth place.
 
Blu Anderson (Amery, Wis./Amery) gave the Yellowjackets a fourth golfer to finish in the top ten for the weekend. Anderson opened the tournament with an 80 before shaving a few strokes to finish with a 77 yesterday. The freshman shot 82 Saturday, giving him a three-day score of 239, placing him ninth.
 
Closing things out for the conference champions was T.J. Sitek (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior). The Superior native shot 80 Thursday before suffering through a tough round Friday, shooting 99. Sitek found his game Saturday, carding an 87 to complete the weekend with a score of 266.
 
Jake Sweeney of North Central and Shane Seiffert of Northwestern finished in a tie atop the leaderboard, each carding an 11-over 227. Sweeney claimed medalist honors, defeating Seiffert in a playoff.
 
The 2023 UMAC Championships close out the fall portion of the schedule for the Yellowjackets. They will now schedule events in the spring leading up to the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships. The national tournament will take place May 14-17, 2024 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev.