Benge Leads Big Red at Bell Bank

Jackson Benge tied for fifth at 211 (-5) to lead Nebraska to a third-place finish at the 17-team Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate in Litchfield Park, Ariz., on Tuesday.

Benge, a sophomore from Omaha, closed the tournament with an even-par 72, after an opening-round 69 (-3) and a second-round 70 (-2) on the 7,322-yard layout of the Gold Course at the Wigwam Resort.

Rudy Sautron added another top-25 finish for the Huskers by tying for 16th at 213 (-3).  The junior from Reunion Island, France, managed a 74 (+2) in the final round after a second-round 69 (-3) and an opening-round 70 (-2).

Evan McDermott just missed a top-25 showing, tying for 25th at even-par 216. The redshirt junior from Spring Lake, Mich., put together a second-round 69 (-3) after an opening-round 71 (-1) before settling for a 76 (+4) Tuesday.

Freshman Caden Mickelson and sophomore Brodie Cunningham rounded out the team scorers for the Huskers in a tie for 37th at 219 (+3). Mickelson produced Nebraska's best final round with a 71 (-1), while Cunningham contributed to Nebraska's team score in both the second (73) and third (74) rounds.

Quinn Yost completed the Husker contingent by tying for 55th at 223 (+7) including an even-par 72 in the final round while competing as an individual outside the Husker lineup.

As a team, Nebraska put up a three-round total of 854 (-10), finishing 11 strokes behind the champions from Marquette at 843 (-21), while Iowa State took second at 847 (-17). The Huskers finished two strokes in front of No. 42 Arkansas State, while also defeating Big Ten rivals Maryland (861), Wisconsin (868) and the hosts from Minnesota (872).

Maryland's Emil Riegger took home medalist honors with his 206 (-10) that included an opening-round 66 (-6). Marquette's Mason Schmidtke finished second at 208 (-8) while Iowa State's Zachary May took third at 209 (-7). Maryland's Will Gregware, who finished fourth at 210 (-6), was the only other golfer to finish ahead of Benge in the final standings.

Nebraska returns to action at the Tiger Intercollegiate in Columbia, Mo. (April 6-7).

Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate
March 23-24, 2026
Litchfield Park, Arizona (Host: Minnesota)
Wigwam Resort - Gold Course (Par 72, 7,322 Yards)

Final Team Standings
1. Marquette - 282-282-279=843 (-21)
2. Iowa State - 285-281-281=847 (-17)
3. Nebraska - 282-281-291=854 (-10)
4. #42 Arkansas State - 289-282-285=856 (-8)
5. Maryland - 284-289-288=861 (-3)
6. UTSA - 284-295-283=862 (-2)
7. Oral Roberts - 285-292-287=864 (E)
8. Denver - 287-288-292=867 (+3)
9. Wisconsin - 291-287-290=868 (+4)
10. Minnesota - 290-291-291=872 (+8)
11. North Dakota - 285-294-294=873 (+9)
12. Utah State - 289-290-295=874 (+10)
13. St. Thomas (Minn.) - 289-302-293=884 (+20)
14. North Dakota State - 287-298-301=886 (+22)
15. Drake - 297-302-295=894 (+30)
16. Kansas City - 294-302-300=896 (+32)
17. Bethel (Minn.) - 305-303-313=921 (+57)

Final Individual Results
1. #137 Emil Riegger, Maryland - 66-69-71=206 (-10)
2. Mason Schmidtke, Marquette - 71-69-68=208 (-8)
3. Zachary May, Iowa State - 70-71-68=209 (-7)
4. Will Gregware, Maryland - 70-71-69=210 (-6)
T5. Zander Grant, Denver - 68-70-73=211 (-5)
T5. Jason Shwartz, Wisconsin - 71-70-70=211 (-5)
T5. Chase Goetschel, Utah State - 69-72-70=211 (-5)
T5. Jackson Benge, Nebraska - 69-70-72=211 (-5)
T5. Francisco Solorz-Gutierrez, UTSA - 69-75-67=211 (-5)
T10. #135 Paul Beauvy, Iowa State - 72-69-71=212 (-4)
T10. Johan Widal, Marquette - 70-72-65=212 (-4)
T10. Owen Sawyer, Iowa State - 74-70-68=212 (-4)
T10. Joshua Hong, UTSA - 73-68-71=212 (-4)
T10. Jorge Sanchez-Gutierrez, ORU - 72-70-70=212 (-4)
T10. Nate Peyerl, North Dakota - 69-72-71=212 (-4)

Nebraska Individuals
T5. Jackson Benge - 69-70-72=211 (-5)
T16. #78 Rudy Sautron - 70-69-74=213 (-3)
T26. Evan McDermott - 71-69-76=216 (E)
T37. Brodie Cunningham - 72-73-74=219 (+3)
T37. Caden Mickelson - 72-76-71=219 (+3)
*55. Quinn Yost - 77-74-72=223 (+7)
*competed as an individual outside Nebraska's lineup