Reaux Claims Medalist Honors as Eagles Finish Runner-Up at Pearl River Invitational

An MCC Eagles golfer crouches low to carefully place his ball on the green before putting, putter held in one hand.

February 11, 2026

DIAMONDHEAD, Miss. — The Meridian Community College men's golf team continued its strong MACCC campaign Tuesday, finishing second at the Pearl River Invitational while sophomore Dax Reaux captured individual medalist honors.

The tournament marked the fifth MACCC event of the year, and with the runner-up finish, the Eagles have now placed third or better in every conference event this season, including a victory at Event No. 2 in September.

Hosted by Pearl River Community College at Diamondhead Country Club, the two-day event opened Monday with staggered tee times every nine minutes. Jace Duckworth led things off for the Eagles, followed by fellow sophomore Reaux and Ayers Mathis, freshman Daniel Young, and newcomer Quin Monaghan.

Meridian posted an 18-over team score in round one, trailing eventual tournament champion and No. 2-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast by 12 strokes. Hinds sat third at 26 over, followed closely by East Central and Jones at 28 over.

Reaux positioned himself near the top early, carding an even-par round to sit third on the leaderboard after day one. He trailed only a Gulf Coast Bulldog and an East Central Warrior, who both posted 2-under rounds. Duckworth and Young also kept Meridian in contention with matching 3-over cards.

All Eagles teed off at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for the final round and combined for a 19-over team score, finishing at 37 over for the tournament — good enough for second place behind Gulf Coast (13 over).

Reaux delivered the highlight of the week, firing a 1-under round on day two to finish 1-under for the tournament and secure the individual championship.

Head Coach Lance Strickland praised his team's steady performance and celebrated Reaux's breakthrough victory.

"Dax has been knocking on the door all year," Strickland said. "He came so close earlier this season and lost in a playoff. It was great to see him finish the job this time. I'm proud of the way our guys competed again — to be top three in every MACCC event says a lot about this group."

The Eagles now turn their attention to the Tommy Snell Invitational, a three-round non-conference tournament at Sunkist Country Club in Biloxi, Miss., scheduled for February 25–26.

For full tournament results, visit:
https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/242590/scoring/team

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