Wheeling, W. Va. – Last week, the Wheeling University Men's Golf team competed against the best of the best in the conference at the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships. On Monday, they get a chance to wrap up their fall season when they compete at the Dr. Wally Edgel Championships, hosted by Davis & Elkins College. It will be one final chance for the young Cardinals to take the course and gain experience as they continue to grow.
At the 2022 MEC Championships, the Cardinals had some highs and some lows across the two days of competition. They finished 10th overall in the team rankings, and unfortunately were unable to advance to day three of competition. The Cardinals already started behind the eight ball, having just four golfers able to make the trip, but they opened day one shooting a 357. They finished nine strokes behind ninth place West Virginia State and had two golfers shooting in the mid-80s in that first round. Day two saw some improvement on the course, with the team lowering their score by one stroke, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Yellow Jackets. They finished one spot lower than the previous season, but still got some valuable experience on the links
Leading the way at the event was the veteran of this young team in junior
Austin Panhorst. Panhorst was consistent throughout the tournament, shooting a combined 167 at the event. On day one, he shot an 84 to kick things off and had particular success on the front nine. He shot a +5 on the first nine holes of the day, and was able to pick up 10 pars out of the 18 holes that he played. While he didn't pick up any birdies on day one, he entered day two of competition with a solid Gameplan. He would end up putting that plan to action and finished one stroke lower than his day one score, shooting an 83. He had a similar +5 on the front nine, but this time was able to take a shot off his back nine stroke to finish at +6.
Along with Panhorst's performance, sophomore
Nick Zaller tied a career low at the MEC Championships, shooting a 170 across the two days. His day one score of 85 was two strokes lower than his first day last season and he equalled the score on day two with another 85 to finish things out. Freshman
Ethan Short made his MEC Championships debut and finished the two day event at 186. Day one was his best showing when he shot a 91 and he followed it up with a 95 on the second day of competition. Rounding out the field was sophomore
Alex Parker, who finished the event at 190. The Cardinals will look to grow from this experience as they finish out the fall season.
As the Cardinals head into this final outing of the Fall season, they look to continue to lower their scores on the links. It is one more chance for the Cardinals to compete in a 36 hole competition across two days as they head towards the spring . Head Coach
Rich Conwell continues to work with his team as they continue to improve and gain experience with each tournament.
Course Details
The Dr. Wally Edgel Championships will be played at the Canaan Valley Resort in Davis West Virginian the course features an 18-hole, par 72 course, with 65 sand bunkers and eight water hazards. The obstacles will test Wheeling's ball placement throughout the day as they try to set themselves up for better shots. The course has been ranked #11 in the state of West Virginia as the team will be offered one of the best courses in the state.
The Cardinals competed in this same event just a year ago and shot a combined 617 across the two day event. Former Cardinal
Yadhu Urs led the way for the Cardinals, finishing tied for 18th with a 145, shooting under 70 on each of the two days. Former Cardinal
Hunter Travis finished right behind him shooting a 151 in the two rounds.
The Details
Tee time for round one of the Dr. Wally Edgel Championships is scheduled for 9 AM. Stay tuned to wucardinals.com for a full recap of events after each round of competition.
