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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Forty years ago, the Capital men's golf team put together a record-setting 1980 that still holds as the best season in program history. Led by two All-Americans in senior Ken Weixel and freshman Bill Stebelton, the Crusaders compiled a 62-4 record against all NCAA Division III opponents and a 52-2 record against Ohio Conference (OC), as it was known at the time, opponents while playing out their remarkable season. Weixel was the lone senior and along with junior Mark Stegner, were co-captains and made up the only upperclassmen on the squad that was filled out with a group of talented underclassmen including Stebelton, Mike Deley, Greg Kline, Paul Pope and Doug Steiner who, under the tutelage of Whitey Regan, were integral to the team's success through the season.
After planning to open the spring at the Glenville State Invitational, which was rained out, the team settled in on April 4-5 at the Marietta College Invitational. The group battled the 12-team field in the 36-hole event at Marietta Country Club, coming up just shy of a team title, placing second with a score of 771 led by Weixel who placed fifth.
Capital took to the links the next week, getting their first glimpse of the season of the Apple Valley Golf Course, Kenyon College's home course and the site for the 1980 OC Championships. They liked what they saw in the par-72 track, besting 13 other teams with a one-round score of 397 to take the top spot and their first tournament title of the season, again paced by Weixel who made the podium with a third place finish.
The next time out, the Crusaders made the short trip to Denison, placing third out of 12 teams at Granville Golf Club before heading west to play at Wittenberg. There they were the runners-up in the 54-hole, 14-team tournament, split between both Reid Park and Snyder Park golf courses and the two soon-to-be All-Americans captained the group as Stebelton finished second and Weixel 17th, individually.
In their last showing before the OC Championship, the young linksmen traversed the par-71 Delaware Golf Club at the Ohio Wesleyan University Invitational, winning their second tournament of the season and riding high as their preparations began for the tough task they were facing the next week. Stebelton again finished as the runner-up for the second tournament running and Weixel cracked the top-10, placing 10th.
The Apple Valley Golf Course was a 7,000-yard track nestled within the hills and forest that blended seamlessly into the lush Ohio landscape. The immaculate course was one of the premier courses in the state of Ohio in 1980, hosting a myriad of events in its history, including the 1977 Division III National Championship, and as such, posed a tough task for the OC Championship to be played on May 8-9.
The Capital golfers suited up and were in the thick of things after day one, sitting just two shots back of Wooster (388) and eight shots ahead of defending champions Ohio Wesleyan (398) at 390 through 18 holes. Led by Weixel who fired an opening round 70 (-2), the Crusaders deftly navigated the difficult course, outdistancing all opponents in the last two rounds to hoist the OC Championship trophy for the first time in program history. Capital finished with a 54-hole team score of 1,160, 17 shots better than Wooster who claimed the second spot with 1,177. The senior captain in Weixel finished atop the leaderboard, carding 221 (+5) to earn medalist honors and clear the field by five strokes. The runner-up honors went to none other than freshman Stebelton who finished his tournament shooting 226 (+10) with fellow freshman Mike Deley finishing 12th.
The OC victory in a stacked conference added to an already remarkable resume that earned the Purple and White an automatic bid into the 20-team field for the NCAA Championships hosted at Willow Creek Golf Club in Des Moines, Iowa. To truly emulate how stiff the competition was within the OC, the three teams that finished behind the Crusaders in the conference tournament, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and Denison, also earned the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Championship.
The tournament to crown the best DIII men's golf team in the nation was set to be played on May 20-23 at Willow Creek Golf Course in Des Moines, Iowa. As a part of competing in the NCAA Championship, the NCAA gives stipends to teams for expenses involved with the tournament. Not long after the team won the OC Championship, head coach Whitey Regan sat down with the team and the group decided to drive to Des Moines, instead of fly, and use the extra money to proudly represent the Purple and White with new uniforms for the special occasion.
On May 17th the team met on campus, packed their golf and duffle bags into one van and started the roughly 10-hour drive to Willow
Creek Golf Course. Arriving the next morning, and one day before the other teams, the Crusaders wasted no time, quickly unpacking and setting out to get the lay of the land with a practice round.
The Willow Creek Golf Course featured large undulating greens, tree-lined fairways and a smattering of water hazards and sand traps littered throughout the challenging, nearly 7,000-yard, par-71 golf course. The tournament course was made up of two of the three separate nine-hole courses on the property, the white course which played as the front (par 35) and the red course as the back nine (par 36).
The following day, during their second practice round, the team playing in a five-some had reached the 11th hole, a long par-5 that doglegged to the left that was reachable in two shots. After the men fired off their second shots to try to reach the green, Weixel searched high and low for his ball that was nowhere to be found until a teammate reached the pin and found it nestled in the cup for a double-eagle. That shot proved to be a good omen for Capital in the coming days and was celebrated at the players dinner that evening, overshadowing a hole-in-one achieved by another player, before the teams settled down for an uneasy nights rest before the first round the next morning.
The teams woke up to a splendid overcast day with little wind and mid-70s temperatures for round one of the NCAA Championships. The Crusaders got off to a slow start to begin their championship run, turning in four scores of 76 from Kline, Stebelton, Stegner and Weixel, which placed them eighth with a team score of 304, 11-shots back of leader California State University Stanislaus at 293.
The second day was another great day for golf and Capital made the most of it. Led by Stebelton who shot 72 to move him into third place individually at six-over, the team posted 298 with the three other counting scores coming from Kline and Steiner who carded 75 and Stegner with a 76. The two round total of 602 (+32) vaulted the Crusaders into a tie for sixth place with two rounds to play.
Wind started to pick up as the third round was underway but not to be deterred, Stebelton and crew posted a respectable 301 to total 903 (+51) through three days of competition to remain in sixth place and stay within striking distance of a podium finish. Stebelton once again was the low man on the team, turning in a two-over 73 to move to 11th overall at eight-over par. The rest of the squad was not far off, with all four still in the mix in the individual standings and poised to make a final run up the leaderboard on the final day.
The final 18 holes of the 72-hole tournament teed off on Friday, May 23rd with a number of teams in the hunt and ready to etch their names in the annuls of college golf. Capital, sporting their brand new uniforms, gave it a great last shot, playing in the final grouping with eventual champion CSU Stanislaus, fighting until the last putt was made, caps doffed and hands were shaken. As the players made their way to the 17th green they were surprised to see ESPN, the still fledgling network, set up with a camera between the 17th green and 18th tee with another on the 18th green, filming the final few holes that would determine the 1980 national champion.
The Crusaders put on a good show, shooting their best round of the tournament, a nine-over 293 that moved them up two spots on the leaderboard into fourth with a total of 1,196 (+60). Stebelton stumbled on the final day with a 78 but his teammates stepped up as they all had during the season. Stebelton (76-72-73-78) and Kline (76-75-76-72) would finish tied at 299 for lowest team score and take a share of 19th place individually. Weixel finished 24th with 301 (76-78-75-72), Stegner 30th with 304 (76-76-77-75) and Steiner rounded out the starting five with 306 (77-75-80-74) to finish 38th.
The 1980 Capital men's golf season concluded with two regular season tournament titles before running away with the team's first OC Championship and climbing the 20-team leaderboard at the NCAA Championships two weeks later to finish fourth. Following the season, each member of the team was presented with a plaque and a ring commemorating their OC Championship and their fourth-place NCAA Championship finish.
Weixel was the OC Championship medalist, named first-team all-conference, and on May 30th was named Honorable Mention All-America to close out his collegiate career and captaincy
of the Crusaders. Throughout his four-year career, Weixel turned in numerous top-five finishes, multiple in the OC Championships alone, and was a part of three teams that earned the opportunity to play in the NCAA Championships (1977, 1979, 1980).
Stebelton finished as the OC Championship runner-up, named first-team all-conference, was tied for Capital's low score at the NCAA Championships and alongside Weixel was named Honorable Mention All-America. Stebelton only continued to improve after his freshman season, eventually becoming a three-time All-American (1980, 1981, 1982) and led his 1983 team to the program's second OC Championship in 1983, claiming medalist honors.
The success of the 1980 team has been unmatched in the 40 years since. Everything came together for the team with veteran leadership and the unexpected talent brimming in the freshman class, and with a bit of luck, made history.
Information procured from the Capital Athletics archives and personal testimony of Ken Weixel ('80).
