MORROW, Ga. – On August 18, 1997, Clayton State Athletics completed a significant transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. The 2017-18 season marked the 20^th anniversary of that accomplishment. Over a seven week span, the Sports Information Office is releasing the top 20 moments in the NCAA era, one on each Monday, Wednesday and Friday with select exceptions.
  The countdown continues with the No. 10 moment, Men's Golf Becomes First Clayton State Program to Reach NCAA Championships in 1999.
 
In just the second full year of the program being at the NCAA Division II level, the 1999 men's golf team became the first team to qualify for the national championships. Nearly 20 years later, that team's accomplishments are still among the most impressive in the history of Clayton State Athletics.
 
Below are the original releases from the 1999 NCAA South Regional (May 5, 1999), NCAA Division II National Championships preview (May 14, 1999) and the championships final recap (May 21, 1999).
  SENECA, S.C. - The Clayton College & State University golf team set a preseason goal to qualify for
the 1999 NCAA Division II National Tournament, and now that goal has become a reality as the Lakers shot a three-day score of 913 to finish fourth at the South Region tournament Wednesday afternoon. The 15-team event, hosted by Presbyterian College, was played at the par-72 Cross Creek Plantation in Seneca, S.C.
 
"I am extremely proud of the guys for the way they played," said Clayton State head coach Bob Hill.
"This was a tough field, with 11 of the 15 participating teams ranked in the top-25 in the nation, but they hung in there and accomplished what we had come here to do. Now it's off to the national tournament!"
 
Junior Dave Kelly, one of just two players to break 70 during the tournament after Tuesday's round of
69, shot a 73 in the final round to share medalist honors with Wayne Raath of Florida Southern. Kelly and Raath both finished at 3-over 219, one stroke better than the two second-place finishers. The win was Kelly's second of the year, with the first one coming at the Richard Rendleman Invitational in November.
 
Top-ranked Florida Southern (893) held on to its second-round lead with a strong finish to defeat No. 5
West Florida (907) by 14 strokes, while No. 7 Columbus State, the leader after Monday's opening round, finished third at 910. Also qualifying for the national tournament by virtue of finishing among the top seven teams was No. 8 USC Aiken (915), No. 4 Valdosta State (920) and Pfeiffer (924).

Clayton State senior Michael Farley rallied with a l -over 73 Wednesday to finish 11^th overall at 228 (78-
77-73) for his eighth top-20 finish of the year. Freshman Matt Denaro placed 26'h with a 233 (73-79-81), junior Adam Short finished 28^th with a 234 (79-79-76) and freshman Jess Noel was 71^st after carding a 256.
 
Clayton State will join 17 other teams for the national tournament May 18-21 at the Valdosta Country
Club in Valdosta, Ga.
  MORROW, Ga. - In the spring of 1996, Clayton College & State University fielded its first official
intercollegiate golf team, which went on to place in the bottom half in six of seven tournaments during the season, including three last-place finishes. Now, just four years later, the Lakers are one of only 18 schools heading to the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
"This is what we have been dreaming about for many years, although some of us longer than others," says senior Michael Farley, the only member remaining from that inaugural squad. "Going from a first-year program in 1996, when we had some pretty poor days, to the national tournament next week is quite an achievement, and it makes up for all, or at least many, of those days. Valdosta should be fun and enjoyable, and hopefully we can play well and put up some pretty good scores."
 
The Lakers earned their trip to the nationals by placing fourth at the NCAA South Regional during the first week of May. At the regional, where only the top seven teams advanced, Clayton State was one of just four schools out of the 15 participating teams not ranked among the nation's top 25, but that did not intimidate them.
 
With three consistent rounds of golf, the Lakers finished ahead of eight ranked teams and were only seven shots out of second place. Junior Dave Kelly, whose second-round 69 was one of only two sub-70 rounds recorded during the entire tournament, finished at 3-over par to share medalist honors with Wayne Raath of top-ranked Florida Southern College.
 
"We have been waiting for this moment since last year's disappointing finish," says head coach Bob Hill, referring to the fact that the Lakers missed qualifying for the 1998 national championships by only two strokes. "The guys have worked extremely hard for this and I can't begin to tell you how proud I am."
 
This season has been by far the most successful one in Clayton State golf history. In 10 tournaments, the Lakers have recorded a 100-38 record and have finished in the top-five eight times, including the school's first-ever team title at the Richard Rendleman Invitational in November. As a team, the guys have combined to shoot the top four 18-hole scores, the top three 36-hole tournament scores and three of the top five 54-hole tournament scores in school history.
 
Individually, Kelly, an All-Peach Belt Athletic Conference selection, leads the team with a 74.10 stroke average and has set school records for 18-hole rounds (65) and 36-hole tournaments ( 1 37). Despite nursing a sore back all year long and missing nearly a month due to a broken finger, the lefthander from Ste-Marie, Quebec has won two tournaments and has placed in the top-20 in seven of the eight events he has played.
 
Junior Adam Short, who has a 75.00 stroke average, has captured medalist honors at one tournament and has six Top-20 finishes. Short has been the Lakers' top finisher in three of the past five events and has shot l -over par or better in six of his last 13 tournament rounds.
 
Farley, who is the first four-year letterwinner in Clayton State golf history, sports a 75.26 average and will be looking to end his collegiate career in style. The Cape Town, South Africa native has recorded eight top-16 finishes this year and has placed in the Top-20 in 25 of 34 events throughout his career.
 
"I am playing well right now," says Farley, a two-time all-conference performer. "If l can make some good shots and drain some putts, I'm hoping I'll be able to finish somewhere around the lead. It would be nice to finish in the top five. I feel that when there is a big tournament, I tend to rise up to the occasion, and hopefully that will be the case as I close out my Clayton State career."
 
Freshmen Matt Denaro, Jess Noel and Johs Nielsen combine to rank 11^th in the nation in the latest Golfstat Freshman Class Impact Rankings. Denaro (77.25 average), who recorded the second-lowest score in school history with his 5-under 67 back in September, has shot 74 or better in three of his past five tournament rounds, while Noel and Nielsen have both shown that they can shoot right around par as well.
 
"I have told the guys to go down there, have fun and to do their best," says Hill. "We just need to put the
numbers on the board and see where we finish."
 
The tournament will be played on Valdosta Country Club's Plantation and Bottom nines, a combined par-72, 6,684-yard course. After practice rounds on May 16-17, the teams will play 18 holes each day from Tuesday, May 18, to Friday, May 21.
 
If history is to repeat itself, then Clayton State should not be overlooked. Twenty-one of the last 24 national champions have come from the South Regional, with defending champion Florida Southern (5) and Columbus State (3) winning eight of the nine titles in the 1990s. The Lakers are hoping to give the South its ninth.
  VALDOSTA, Ga. - It was a bittersweet end to a sensational season for the Clayton College & State University golf team. In just its fourth year as a full-time member of the NCAA, the Lakers used a school-record and tournament-best 7-under 65 from junior Adam Short to place seventh at the 1999 NCAA Division II National Championships Friday afternoon at the Valdosta Country Club.
 
Clayton State finished the four-day tournament at 1,184 after rounds of 293-296-300-295 to beat eighth-place Ferris State by two strokes. Top-ranked Florida Southern ran away with the title by finishing 27-under par (1, 125), 32 strokes ahead of runner-up USC Aiken (1,157). FSC set a new Division II championship record with its score, which was 16 strokes better than the previous mark set by Lamar in 1967.
 
"The guys had a lot of fun this week, which is the important thing," said Clayton State's second-year head coach Bob Hill. "I am really proud of their efforts in this highly competitive tournament, and we ended with a respectable finish. We'll just take what we learned this week and use it to our advantage next year as we aim a little higher."
 
Short, who began the day tied for 13^th place, was on fire from the start Friday. After opening the round with a three-putt par on the first hole, the Vineland, Ontario, native went on to birdie seven of the next eight holes, including a chip-in from just off the green on the par-3 fifth hole, to come in with an astonishing 29 on the front nine.
 
Short closed out the back nine with nine consecutive pars to move all the way up to fifth place overall for the tournament after finishing with a 6-under 282 (73-72-72-65). Short's 65 was three strokes better than the next-best score recorded in 371 total rounds during the week, and it marked the fourth time this year that the school's 18-hole record was broken.
 
Senior Michael Farley, playing his final collegiate tournament of his career, tied for 38^th with a 10-over 298 (70-73-79-76) for the Lakers. Junior Dave Kelly finished one stroke back with a 299 (75-72-75-77) to tie for 41^st, while freshmen Jobs Nielsen (75-79-79-80-313) and Matt Denaro (80-85-74-77-316) placed 77^th and 85^th, respectively.
 
Florida Southem's Matt Saglio held on to win medalist honors with a 10-under 278, two strokes better than Matt Avinger (USC Aiken), Jon Drewery (Columbus State) and teammate Jeff Klauk.
 
Clayton State finishes the year with a 108-58 record, by far the best in school history, and is the first team in the program to place among the NCAA's Top-10 since making the move from the NAIA during the 1997-98 academic year.
 
Schedule of NCAA 20^th Anniversary Countdown Releases
No. 1 (July 11)
No. 2 (July 9)
No. 3 (July 5)
No. 4 (July 2)
No. 5 (June 29)
No. 6 (June 27)
No. 7 (June 25)
No. 8 (June 22)
No. 9 (June 20)
No. 10 Men's Golf Becomes First Clayton State Program to Reach NCAA Championships in 1999 (June 18)
No. 11 Eight Individual PBC Championships in Calendar Year by Cross Country and Track (June 15)
No. 12 Men's Soccer Wins Five PBC Championships in Three Seasons From 2005-07 (June 13)
No. 13 Women's Tennis Claims Rare PBC Championship in 2001 (June 11)
No. 14 Women's Soccer Sweeps PBC Titles and Heads to NCAA's in 2005 (June 8)
No. 15 Women's Basketball Makes First Elite Eight in 2006-07 (June 6)
No. 16 Men's Cross Country Delivers Record Setting 2005 Season (June 4)
No. 17 Women's Basketball Wins No. 1 vs. No. 2 Game vs. Lander on February 10, 2011 (June 1)
No. 18 Men's Basketball Wins First Ever PBC Championship in 2001-02 Regular Season Finale (May 30)
No. 19 Women's Cross Country Wins PBC, Heads to 2012 NCAA National Championships (May 28)
No. 20 Women's Tennis Makes NCAA Tournament in 1999 (May 25)