BLUFFTON -- In a year where history has consistently been made, the men's and women's golf teams checked off a first in the record books for the Sand Sharks, as McLain Neal and Erik Rengardt claimed individual Peach Belt Conference titles in April.

A junior out of Olathe, Kansas, Neal had an up-and-down 2024-25 season, not recording a top-10 finish once during the regular season—until the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Championships. Her first round featured a 2-over score. Neal started her round with three straight pars before a bogey on the par-3 fourth. She quickly regained momentum, making three consecutive pars and closing the front nine with a birdie on the ninth to make the turn at 1-over. A bogey on the 10th was followed by four straight pars, and she briefly dipped back to 1-over with a birdie on the par-4 15th. Neal closed with a bogey on 16, finishing the day in strong form with a 74 on the card.

Her second round was even better, as she started on the 9th hole and wasted no time heating up, rolling in back-to-back birdies on 9 and 10. Despite a bogey on 14, she remained steady and rebounded with a birdie on 18 to make the turn at 2-under. A bogey-bogey stretch on holes 2 and 3 momentarily slowed her momentum, but she regained control with clutch birdies on 4 and 7, finishing the round at 2-under and positioning herself atop the leaderboard heading into the final round.

In Sunday's finale, Neal fired an even-par 72, finishing at even par overall and claiming her first PBC title—and her first individual win since joining the Sand Sharks last year. Steady and composed, Neal opened with a par on the first hole before rolling in a birdie on the par-3 second. She followed with a stretch of seven consecutive pars, making the turn at 1-under. Her hot play continued on the back nine with another birdie on the 10th to reach 2-under, but she would give back a few shots with bogeys on 12, 14, and 15. Showing resilience down the stretch, Neal birdied the par-5 17th and parred the final hole to lock up the victory.

Rengardt was in control from the opening shot on the men's side. Prior to the tournament, he was named the PBC Freshman of the Year and wasted no time showing why he was among the conference's best. He opened with back-to-back birdies on holes 9 and 10, setting the tone for a red-hot round. A lone bogey on the par-3 13th was quickly erased with birdies on 16 and 18, turning in a 3-under back nine. He kept the momentum going with a birdie on the 1st, before a bogey on 3 momentarily slowed him. Unfazed, he closed strong with birdies on 7 and 9, vaulting him to the top of the individual leaderboard.

In round two, Rengardt again led the charge for the Sand Sharks, carding a 3-under 69 behind a flurry of six birdies. He carried the momentum into the final round and delivered the program's first individual PBC crown while leading the men's team to its first-ever PBC title. He was tested in the final round after starting off with a bogey on number 9. He then made seven consecutive pars and birdied 18, sitting at even par at the turn. He would go on to birdie three of the next seven holes before carding back-to-back bogeys to end his round at 1-under.

As history continues to be made, there's no doubt these moments of individual triumph will forever be engraved in the program's lore for years to come.