Benji Zorn took home the 2024 men’s Division One Collegiate disc golf title with a comeback, making it Ferris’ fifth D1 disc golf championship victory.
Since joining the disc golf team freshman year, Zorn has had one goal: becoming a disc golf national champion. After two years of dedication and resilience, he brought home a championship title as a sophomore.
After his first round of 18 holes against 200 other D1 disc golfers, he took eighth place, allowing him to move on. The top 16 players guarantee themselves a chance to win it all by playing the final nine holes. Zorn had been in this spot before and was relieved to make it there again.
“The weather conditions weren’t great which were similar to last year’s tournament and some of those really good players struggled because of the wind. I was able to solidify myself in the top 16, so I knew in my head I was still in it and had a chance,” Zorn said.
Zorn was exhausted after his first individual and team round but knew he needed to finish strong. His goal for the last nine holes was to play as smart as possible. Instead of trying to make risky throws to advance himself further, he played technically and went with his instincts.
“I still had that last singles round so we rallied together, listened to some music and got warmed up,” Zorn said. “I was nervous at first because there were at least 75 spectators. For me, it was about staying loose. Not taking it too seriously allowed me to just feel good and let my game shine.”
Zorn took the opportunity at hand and finished his round three under par. The cards in front of him were still finishing up and needed to make one final birdie putt for it to be a tie game. To prepare for a playoff, Zorn went to the first hole, where he relaxed and acknowledged how lucky he was for this chance. The conditions and pressure got to his competition, their attempts fell short, and Zorn was crowned the champion.
After the 2023 national results, Zorn and the team set out for improvement.
“Last year I was right in it, I was playing really well and I ended up taking tenth which was tragic,” Zorn said. “Last year really stung so this whole year was dedicated to grinding and motivating the team. We didn’t play as well as we wanted but I felt like that title was right there and I let it slip through my fingers.”
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Zorn was originally from Iowa and relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan at a young age. He was introduced to disc golf at age 12 by neighborhood friends, where they would build their courses with just two acres and three baskets. Half a year later, he played his first junior tournament competing against kids his age, and finished in fifth place. After taking a year off of competing, he told his dad he wanted to start playing tournaments again. He realized there were and still are stigmas surrounding the sport that might make it seem like a hobby, but Zorn was all in.
“There was definitely some hesitancy but my parents trusted me with their whole heart,” Zorn said. “When I was 14, they would drive me to the disc golf course, drop me there for three hours and I would just play two or three rounds and that has definitely made me a good player. A lot of people get into this sport during high school, and I was able to really develop my skills while I was still in middle school, so that definitely was an advantage.”
Throughout his high school career, Zorn played in as many tournaments as possible to get a taste of victory while still putting academics first. He graduated with a 4.2 GPA and landed his first sponsorship from Innova Disc Golf, which he refers to as the “Callaway of Discs.” He knew he wanted to focus on education while furthering his disc golf career.
“I looked at many different universities but they didn’t really have disc golf teams which was really important to me. I scheduled a visit with Leonard Johnson the head coach, and I really felt like a division one athlete,” Zorn said. “He took me around campus, gave me some merch, showed me the championship rings and told me I was going to win one myself one day.”
Zorn has been able to establish many new relationships along the way. He met his girlfriend, Delaney Beckett, during their first semester of freshman year. Beckett is a sophomore double majoring in Spanish and elementary education and is the women’s disc golf team captain.
Beckett was instantly supportive of Zorn’s disc golf career and actively supported the team during the 2022-23 season. Since she joined the team, their relationship has only strengthened.
“The base of any relationship is being supportive and understanding one another,” Beckett said. “I’m the one who can get through to him if he’s ever frustrated so it’s about being there even when the energy is high. Now that I play, I am able to understand him more. A lot of times people don’t realize what a job or sport really entails so it’s nice to be able to put myself in his shoes.”
She and the team rushed to celebrate with Zorn after they knew he was the winner.
“We had just finished our team round so I wasn’t able to watch his final nine holes. I kept refreshing the scores while sitting on a bench trying to find his score,” Beckett said. “The team came and got me so we could watch the other team’s final putt. As soon as we knew it wasn’t going in, everyone started rushing to him and crying. Everyone on the team was there and we were all just so proud.”
With the season and spring semester coming to a close, Beckett and Zorn are planning on studying abroad together in Costa Rica over the summer.
Ferris’ disc golf founder and retired faculty member Leonard Johnson assembled his first team in 2006. Since the formation of the disc golf team, they have won eleven total national titles. Using his connections with alumni was how he found out about Zorn. Johnson cherishes the relationships he can build with his players and considers Zorn a second son. His favorite memory from the 2024 season was seeing Zorn come back and win despite being behind.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the fact that he’s only a sophomore,” Johnson said. “You can just tell that he has a drive, a focus and the talent. Those three qualities are why I’m not surprised that he was able to pull it off.”
With no seniors leaving this year, Johnson is confident about this team’s next chapter.
“I think this group has been much more involved and dedicated than many of the groups in the past,” Johnson said. “We played more tournaments than any other [Ferris] team up to this point and they’re ready for more. We’ve got so many great things to look forward to together and I’m just really excited about the future.”