Published: May 27, 2009 09:16 pm      

Eagles put five on NAIA All-America team

OKLAHOMA CITY— NAIA men’s golf national champion Oklahoma Christian University placed five players on the 2009 NAIA All-America list, released Tuesday.

Fernando Gonzales, Axel Ochoa and Oscar Stark were each first-team honorees, while Tor-Erik Knudsen and Preston Wilkins earned second-team notoriety.

After winning the school’s first golf national title last Friday in Silvis, Ill., Gonzales and Stark were named to the Ping NAIA All-America first team, Ochoa and Gonzales were NAIA All-Tournament Team members, Knudsen picked up the Phil Mickelson NAIA Freshman of the Year award and head coach Kelsey Cline was named the NAIA Eaton Golf Pride National Coach of the Year.

Gonzales is now a four-time NAIA All-American, and a three-time first-team pick (2006, 2008, 2009). The senior from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, joins Bruno Buccolo (2005-08), Rhein Gibson (2005-08) and Juan Lizarralde (2002-05) as Oklahoma Christian’s only other four-time golf All-Americans.

Gonzales placed sixth at nationals for his second-straight top-10 finish (tied for third in 2008). He finished the year with a team-low 72.7 stroke average and he was the medalist at the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship.

Ochoa tied for 10th place at the national tournament to round out the year with a 73.7 scoring average. The sophomore out of Buenos Aires, Argentina, becomes a two-time All-American with this year’s award. Ochoa was a second-team selection in 2008 as well.

Stark is also a two-time All-American after being a third-teamer last season. The sophomore from Gothenburg, Sweden, carded an average of 73.3 in 2009 en route to six top-10 finishes. Stark won the Stephen F. Austin Bill Hill Classic in February and he tied for 19th place at nationals.

Knudsen is the program’s first Phil Mickelson Award winner after bursting onto the scene in 2009. The rangy Lommedalen, Norway, product posted an average score of 73.5 and tied for 48th at nationals. Knudsen tied for fifth at the SAC Championships and he won the Dallas Baptist Patriot Classic and the Southern Nazarene Arizona Intercollegiate.

Wilkins started the year off with a bang thanks to a second-place finish at the SNU Arizona Intercollegiate. The Tulsa native averaged a 74.7 and he placed in the top 10 of three tournaments. Wilkins joined Knudsen in a 48th-place tie at the national tournament.

Cline put his National Coach of the Year award in his trophy case next to SAC Coach of the Year honors The first-year head coach led OC to five victories in just seven tournaments, and the Eagles placed second in the two events they didn’t win. A native of Mustang, Cline had a standout playing career at the University of Oklahoma from 1997 to 2001 where he was an All-Big 12 and all-region performer.