Following a season of promise for the men's and women's golf programs at Shawnee State during the 2024-25 season, the Bears' men's and women's golf programs will look to uptick their production further in both programs' farewell tour in the River States Conference and the NAIA in 2025-26.
Belville, Wellman enjoy strong fall season for women's golf
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Throughout much of the fall, the top women's golfing duo of
Sidnea Belville and
Aly Wellman were flag-bearers for the Shawnee State women's golf program.
Belville, who matched the program record by shooting the lowest individual round in team history, shot a 76 at the Ohio Christian Fall Invitational and finished as the Shawnee State Fall Invitational Runner-Up, the latter of which capped off a fall where Belville placed in the top-15 in four of her five fall events and inside the top-eight in three of the five tournaments that she competed in.
As for Wellman, the Wayne, W. Va. native posted four top-12 finishes in her five fall tournaments -- including a seventh-place at the Shawnee State Fall Invitational.
Overall, the duo finished with five top-13 finishes apiece -- as Wellman and Belville added in third and fifth place marks at the Ohio Christian University Spring Invitational to boot.
SSU men's golf program improves from top to bottom in '24-25
The men's golf program at Shawnee State, meanwhile, improved in every area throughout the 2024-25 season.
Over the course of the year, the Shawnee State men's golf program lowered its scoring average by over six strokes -- and increased its number of top-three finishes as a team from one in 2023-24 to five during the 2024-25 season.
Trey Cracraft,
Tanner Stevenson and
Ross Ferrell, who emerged as the team's defacto scoring leaders throughout much of the season, each earned three top-six finishes apiece -- with Cracraft earning a second-place finish at the Roger Merb Invitational and Ferrell finishing third at the UPike Spring Invitational as well as fourth at the Harry Weinbrecht Invitational. Cracraft was ultimately named as a Second-Team All-RSC honoree in 2024-25, while Stevenson earned five top-10 finishes and Cracraft four during the season.
Additional
Both the Shawnee State men's and women's golf programs, combined, are losing a total of three individuals, which leaves room for possible upward mobility in 2026. Each of the top five golfers on the men's and women's side will return -- including Stevenson, who has an additional year of eligibility remaining and is choosing to use it for the 2025-26 season.
