Arkansas Tech, Henderson State's Nelson, Southeastern Oklahoma State's Button Qualify for Nationals
ST. JOSEPH, MO. – SWOSU Women's Golf captured the 2026 Central Region Championship behind Freya Sala's first-place finish, marking the first time in program history that a Lady Bulldog has won the Central Regional individual title. Arkansas Tech moved up the leaderboard to join SWOSU in qualifying for nationals. In the individual competition, Southeastern Oklahoma State's Carley Button and Henderson State's Lily Nelson advanced to nationals.
The Lady Dawgs survived a late push by Nebraska Kearney to win the title by two strokes after not holding the team lead until the back nine on the final day. Entering the week, UNK had won its last four tournaments, including the MIAA Championship.
Sala won the GAC Championship last season and can now add the NCAA Central Region title to her list of career victories. After an opening-round 76, she took the lead on day two by firing a tournament-best 71 (-1), which propelled her into the top spot heading into the final 18 holes.
A slow start on day three caused her to surrender her three-shot cushion as she went +3 through the first four holes, but she quickly settled in, playing even par the rest of the way until the final hole. Entering hole 54, she was tied at +6 with Southeastern's Carley Button, needing a par to force a playoff or a birdie to win outright. Ultimately, Sala decided it was time for the week to end, securing the biggest birdie of the year to capture the regional title outright.
The final hole was a 480-yard par 5, a type of hole she was comfortable on all week, as she played the par 5s at -3 across her three rounds, the best mark among all competitors.
With the win, SWOSU has now secured its spot in the NCAA Division II National Championship for the fourth time in program history and the first since 2024, when the Lady Dawgs finished 14th. The championship will take place May 12-16 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
In the final round, Tech tied the fifth-lowest round at 29-over, putting them in the clubhouse with a 54-hole team total of 78-over and in position to finish in the top-five.
Individually, the Golden Suns were led by Ellen Spigner as she finished tied for fourth with a three-round total of 11-over. Jaylee Castro finished tied for 11th at 15-over followed by Jessie Norman who tied for 37th at 24-over. Averi Mickelson was the fourth Golden Sun to play all three rounds and she improved after each round, ending at 37-over to finish tied for 87th.
That became solidified as one of the teams they were grouped with, Washburn, had their highest team score of the tournament and shot 38-over to put their tournament total to 82-over, dropping them down three spots to seventh-place.
Southeastern's Carley Button made program history on Wednesday as she wrapped up her trip to the NCAA Central Regional Tournament in St. Joseph's, Mo., with a second-place finish, earning a berth in the NCAA National Tournament.
Button, the first signee in the history of the women's golf program which is currently in its third season of existence, became the first regional qualifier and took full advantage of the opportunity.
She opened the tournament with a two-over-par 74 after posting a trio of birdies in the first round.
The second round saw her turn in just one birdie, posting a five-over 77.
Button closed the week strong though, turning in three birdies on the front nine to go two-under through nine, and followed with two more birdies on the back nine, but three bogeys pushed her to minus-one for the day, finishing the round with a 71.
Henderson State's Lily Nelson fired her first under-par round of the championship, shooting a two-under par 70. Nelson's round was highlighted by five birdies to counteract a bogey and a double bogey. The senior jumped nine spots on the individual leaderboard to finish in third place; as a top-two finisher for a non-qualifying team, she also earned the right to play in next week's NCAA Championship in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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