ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois University men’s golfer Tom Cleaton has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete First Team, the league office announced today. This is the first time Cleaton has been named First Team after being selected as an honorable mention last year.
Cleaton earned a 3.88 grade point average during the fall semester and closed out the 2020-21 season with SIU’s third-best stroke average, carding a scoring average of 74.4 through 21 rounds. He started off the season with 13-straight rounds in the 70’s before carding a season-low round of 69 at the Murray State Invitational; a tournament in which he finished in a tie for fourth and earned tournament honors. At the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference championship, the Rugby, England, native finished in a tie for 10th with a three-round 228 (+12).
To be eligible for MVC Scholar-Athlete honors, nominees must have at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale), in addition to having reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institutions and have participated in at least 50 percent of their team’s rounds.