Triton Golf Program Welcomes 2025 Recruiting Class
FORT DODGE – After thousands of text messages, hundreds of phone calls and countless zoom calls, the Iowa Central Community College Golf Program has signed five athletes to its 2025 recruiting class.
"A lot of hard work and communication goes in to bringing in a talented recruiting class and I'm very pleased with what we were able to do in the 2025 class," said head coach Kris Graewin. "Coach Blunt and I were able to reach a few different parts of the world for this class which is always fun. Learning about different cultures and finding out if they fit with the team culture that we have here is always a challenge but we believe we have a great group of athletes coming in next fall to help keep us at the top of the NJCAA Division II Golf realm."
A well-traveled Azul Orantes Guzman signed her letter of intent to play for the Tritons. Orantes has played in Mexico, Canada and the United States and boasts a handicap of 7. While attending Kempner High School in Texas, she was nominated for the Athlete of the Year by the Fort Bend Athletics Board.
"Azul is going to be a great addition to our women's program," said Graewin. "She has a great work ethic and has been a great athlete for her high school. She competes on the golf course and runs cross country and we are really looking forward to getting her here in August."
Englishman William Adams is set to join the Tritons in the Fall after graduating from Set Saxmunham School. Adams has played in numerous tournaments in England and will look to bring his large frame and powerful swing to a potent Triton lineup.
"William is a 6-foot-6 long rangy swinger," said Graewin. "What caught our eye was his ability to move the golf ball through a long, powerful swing and his desire to continue to get better. If William is able to adjust to the game over here in the US, the sky is the limit for him."
Dipping back into a state that has produced multiple All-Americans for the Triton Golf program (Joe Forsting '21, Austin Erickson '23) Alex Falligant is the latest Wisconsin native to cross the Mississippi River and join the Tritons. Falligant finished his 2024 summer golf season with one victory and five other top-3 finishes. Falligant helped his Janesville Craig team to a fourth-place finish in the 2024 WIAA Division I State Championship.
"Alex is a great kid from a great high school program," said Graewin. "He's shown the ability to win during the summer circuit and has a power swing from his hockey background. We have had some great success stories from the state of Wisconsin and I think Alex will be the next one in line."
Continuing a recent trend, the Tritons added another Swede to the roster with Axel Haglund. Haglund has a EGR Ranking of 1936 and a 75.8 scoring average over the past year with two low-rounds of 71. Axel recently finished fifth in a Swedish Junior Tour event with two rounds of 73.
"Axel is a very mature young man that we believe has the chance to play for us right away," said Graewin. "We have been fortunate enough to land a couple of players from Sweden over the past year and really think Axel will fit right in with our team and team culture. He's shown the ability to play at a high level from long distances and that should benefit him when he gets here."
Rounding out the Triton class is Natheephat (Paul) Kamolkeeratiroj from Thailand. Paul has two wins in the past year and 16 top-10 finishes. He is currently ranked 1641st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and will look to add some more firepower to the Triton lineup. Kamolkeeratiroj won the Nothern Thailand Junior Golf Championship with rounds of 73-72-75 for a four-shot victory.
"Paul is a great young man who loves the game of golf," said Graewin. "We were lucky to get him committed when we did in August and he has been continuing to work on his game. He comes from a great background and is an extremely hard worker. I can't wait to get him here and get him introduced to our program."
Graewin expects to add more athletes to the recruiting class in the future.
"We are always looking to add like-minded athletes who want to come and compete in everything they do," said Graewin. "We have a very talented squad returning next year on the men's side but also graduate everyone on the women's side. We don't ever want to have to rebuild, we want to reload and we think we are going to be able to continue to compete for ICCAC Championships, District Championships and National Championships."