Men's Golf Puts Two On All-Conference Team, Player of the Year & Newcomer of the Year

Marshall, Mo., (April 26, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's golf team has put two of its student-athletes on the 2023 Heart of America Athletic Conference All-Conference Team, including the Heart Player of the Year and Heart Newcomer of the Year.

Freshman Mateo Quiroga (Canalones, Uruguay) earned all-conference recognition, and was named the Heart Men's Golf Player of the Year and Heart Men's Golf Newcomer of the Year for his play during the season.  Quiroga won the individual championship at this week's Heart Men's Golf Championship, played at The Preserve on Rathbun Lake Golf Course in Moravia, Iowa.  He finished with a three-round score of -15 (201), which featured two rounds of -6 (66) play, to win by nine strokes.  He becomes the fourth member of the program since 2017 to earn the Heart Men's Golfer of the Year award, joining Kaz Sakai (2017), Nicolas Evangelio (2019) and Pablo Hernandez (2021).

Joining Quiroga on the all-conference team was Senior Andres Rueda de Leon (Tabasco, Mexico).  This is the second-straight season that Rueda de Leon has earned all-conference recognition.  He finished the conference championship at No. 16 overall with a final score of +1 (217).

As a team, the Vikings finished one shot back of a conference title, with a total score of -14 (850). Park (Mo.) won with a final score of -15 (849).

As the individual conference champion, Quiroga earns an automatic berth into the 2023 NAIA Men's Golf National Championship to compete as a medalist.  The tournament takes place at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz., May 16-19.

 All-Conference Team-Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.