Johnstown, PA. – After two rounds of competition, the Wheeling University Men's Golf team finds themselves sitting on top of the leaderboard at the 2026 NCAA DII Atlantic/East Regional Championships. With 18 more holes to go on Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals look to take home their first-ever regional championship, and punch their ticket to Las Vegas for the 2026 NCAA DII Men's Golf National Championships. They currently hold a seven stroke lead over the cut line to make the National Championships, and will look to continue their strong play over their final 18 holes.
The first two days of competition have seen the Cardinals shoot a combined score of 574, sitting +14 heading into the final round. Day one would see the Cardinals prove they belong in the field, shooting a 289 over the first 18 holes. Of their five golfers in the field, two shot at either par or better, and placed two in the top 10 of the event. Sophomore Zak Collins and graduate student Sean Dobson led the effort, shooting –1 and E respectively, and the Cardinals would end the day in a three-way tie with Pitt-Johnstown and Adelphi for third place. Heading into the second round, the Cardinals trailed Gannon by four strokes for the top spot in the field, and made their move towards the top. They would not only recover all four of those strokes, but ended up taking a two-stroke lead in the field. Each of the four scoring golfers made a jump in the field, and the Cardinals enter day three looking to hold their lead in the tournament field.
Leading the effort through 36 holes for the Cardinals is sophomore Zak Collins, who sits tied for second with a two-day score of 140 for the event. He would start things strong in round one, shooting a 69 (-1) and finished just two strokes shy of the Wheeling Men's Golf single-round record. He went back and forth on the front nine, balancing three bogeys with three birdies, before finding his consistency on the back nine. He picked up two more birdies on the back nine and finished at –1. On day two, he continued his round one consistency, hitting two more birdies and equaled his even as he hit the turn. He added one more stroke on the back nine, but it was enough to leapfrog two positions in the field and finish tied for second heading into the final round. Collins has been a consistent performer for the Cardinals all season, earning First Team All-MEC honors, and he looks to lead them to their first-ever National Championship event.
Finishing right behind him through two rounds is Sean Dobson, who moved into the top five shooting a 141 through 36 holes. His strongest showing came in the first round, when he shot even par to start the championship event. He had a slow start on the front nine, shooting +3 at the turn, but came back with a bang on the back nine. He birdied on three straight holes and finished –3 for the back nine to even out his score at the end of the day. He would add a +1 in the second round, and currently sits tied for fourth heading into day three. Leading the day two jump in the standings was freshman Elias Ekenes-Fosback, who jumped 28 spots in the field with an even par that brought his two-day score to 144. His front nine was able to secure the par, as he hit the turn at –1 before shooting +1 on the back nine to round out the day.
The final round of the NCAA DII Atlantic/East Regional Championships tees off Saturday, with teams making their final push for Boulder City, Nevada. The top three teams in the tournament field will make the cut, while the top two individuals from the non-qualifying teams making the trip as well. The Cardinals currently hold a seven stroke lead over both Pitt-Johnstown and the University of Charleston, who sit tied for third in the field, and an eight stroke lead over Glenville State in fifth place. Wheeling will have some work to do over the final 18 holes, but will look to continue their consistency from the first two days. They have had three players finish with rounds of par or better, and will need to continue that success heading into day three.
Tee Times
Tee times for Saturday's final round will begin at 7:30 AM for the event, with the first Cardinal teeing off at 12:40 PM. Wheeling will once again send five golfers to the field, with tee times for each below:
Troy Loughry – 12:40 PM
Lodin Femoen – 12:50 PM
Elias Ekenes-Fosback – 1:00 PM
Sean Dobson – 1:10 PM
Zak Collins – 1:20 PM
The Details
You can follow along with round three action live by clicking HERE. If Wheeling can finish in the top three, the team will be making their first-ever trip to the NCAA DII Men's Golf National Championships.
