Garon, Stirling earn All-American honors
Published 6:00 am Tuesday, June 21, 2011
- Meridian Community College sophomore Brandt Garon was named an NJCAA first-team All-American on Monday.
Brandt Garon may be the luckiest man on Earth.
The Meridian Community College sophomore wrapped up his stellar two-year career with the Eagles by being named a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American for the second straight season Monday. MCC freshman Jake Stirling was an honorable mention All-American selection.
“It’s special,” Garon said. “To win it for a second year in a row, it’s just a relief. To hang in there, and be able to go out and play well, it’s just a pressure relief and shows that last year wasn’t a fluke.”
In addition to the All-American selections, Garon also won the individual national championship as a freshman and was the Arnold Palmer Award winner in 2010 and the Jack Nicklaus Award winner in 2011. He was also named a Golf Coaches Association of America All-American both years.
“I couldn’t have been any more blessed with what I was given at MCC,” he added. “From the courses we were able to play on, to the support from the community to coach Sean (Covich). I couldn’t ask for more.”
Garon also knows how special the honor is for his teammate, who hails from Australia.
“Jake worked so hard,” he said of Stirling. “And for him to come in as a freshman, especially from another country, and become a leader like he did and to be ranked like he was, it’s just special.”
Added Stirling in an e-mail this morning from his home in Australia: “It feels great to have finished the year strongly. (It’s) disappointing about the national championship showing, but at least I will be a more experienced player for next year. It feels great to be named All-American.”
Still, despite all that success, Garon deflects all credit even as he prepares to continue his career at Louisiana-Monroe.
“I just wanted to be on the traveling squad,” he said. “I knew coming in, coach Sean was an amazing coach and would work hard to get everything he could out of me. It was a shot in the dark and it paid off big for me.
“I just got lucky a few days. The times I played well and won, I just got lucky.”
