Whitman Hall of Fame
There have been other Northwest Conference championships for Whitman’s men’s golf team, but the heydays of the late ’60s have not been repeated. From 1966 through 1970 the conference title resided in Walla Walla, with the last of the five team championships in that string finished off by individual medalist Mark Lodine.
Lodine culminated his career with that title and an all-conference nod, adding to the all-league honor he also won during his freshman season. His medalist title in 1970 was not a narrow victory, either, as he ran away from the pack for a four-stroke victory.
Over his career Lodine was team medalist 19 times -- nine of those occurring during his senior campaign -- and he ended his time in the program with a 78.0 scoring average.
Teammates knew him as more than just numbers on a scorecard. Del Rankin labeled Lodine a “team leader.” Rick Klobucher calls him “the best cheerleader of us all.” And Jeff Rolig describes Lodine as “unfailingly upbeat and cheerful.”
Though Whitman’s mark of five consecutive championships has equals across NWC history, it still ranks as the second-longest string of championship titles across the league’s annals.
