Pensacola Catholic alum David Chávez wins D2 CIAA Championship

• Former Pensacola Catholic golfer David Chávez won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s golf championship.
• Chávez, a sophomore at Virginia State University, shot a three-round total of 215, one-under par.
• His second-round 66 is the unofficial lowest round in CIAA history.
• Chávez will compete as an individual at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional in May.

A former Pensacola Catholic golfer is continuing to make waves at the collegiate level.

David Chávez, who graduated from Catholic in 2023, was the low medalist at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s golf championship in the middle of April.

Chávez, a sophomore at Division II Virginia State University, carded a three-round total of 215, or one-under par, at the Magnolia Greens Golf Club in Leland, North Carolina. His individual rounds were 77, 66 and 72 to claim the individual championship.

The second-day score of 66 is the unofficial lowest round in CIAA history, according to VSU Athletics.

Virginia State placed fourth out of eight teams at the CIAA Championship.

The low medalist honors were Chávez’s second of his career at Virginia State after winning the CIAA Northern Division Tournament as a freshman last season. That year, he was also the CIAA Co-Rookie of the Year.

Chávez is now one of four individual golfers, not part of a team, who will compete at the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional at Whispering Woods Golf Club in Erie, Pennsylvania. Chávez is the top individual golfer of the four. That tournament will be held May 8-10.

Before Virginia State, Chávez won the A. Downing Gray Cup at just 15 years old at the Pensacola Country Club in 2020, defeating a fellow high school teammate by a stroke.

Chávez was a three-time PNJ All-Area team selection for boys golf, and was the Co-Boys Golfer of the Year in 2021. He paced Pensacola Catholic to three district championships and two region championships. He also made three state tournament appearances.