MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Kohltin Bartlow's two-day performance and Sean McNamara's birdie on hole 15 helped Penn College hoist the 2021 North Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship trophy. The Wildcats, who entered Sunday's final round tied for second, edged defending champions Rutgers-Camden 636-638.

How it Happened: For the second day in a row, Bartlow shot a 5-over-par 77 on the 6,756-yard, par 72 Dauphin Highlands Golf Course for a two-day 154 total to tie for first place with Penn State Berks' Drew Morris.

"He does everything well, but really drove the ball well this weekend," Penn College coach Matt Haile said of Bartlow. "He's such a level-headed player and is able to put the bad holes behind him and refocus."

Sean McNamara came through with a final-round 79 and 156 total, tied for fourth, but his biggest moment came on hole 15 with Penn College trailing Camden by six strokes at the time. McNamara's tee shot on the 188-yard, par 3, hole landed two inches from the hole and led to a tap-in birdie, while Camden took a seven on the hole and put the Wildcats in the driver's seat.

"The weather wasn't great this weekend with strong, gusty winds and I told the guys to win the par 3s," Haile said. "We played the par 3s better than the field and finished strong."

Alex Acree shot rounds of 78-81—159, tied for ninth, and Nathan Hoyer shot 84-83—167, tied for 16th. Also for Penn College, Karson Felty shot 90-91—181, tied for 23^rd.

Bartlow and McNamara earned NEAC first team honors because of their finishes, while Acree was named to the NEAC second team for his top 10 finish.

Bartlow was also named Co-Player of the Year with Morris and Penn College coach Matt Haile was named Coach of the Year.

The Field: Tied for second with Penn State Harrisburg at 316 after Saturday's first round — and trailing top-seeded defending champ Rutgers University-Camden by six shots — the fourth-seeded Wildcats rallied with a 320 Sunday to claim the crown. Rutgers-Camden shot 328 Sunday and finished second at 638, while Harrisburg closed play with a 324 and 640 total for third place.

Coach Speak: "This has been our goal since we became a member of the NCAA," said Haile, who has coached the Wildcats for 12 years and played at Penn College during collegiate career. "It's incredible. I'm kind of at a loss for words, but to play the way we did with the weather and having such an unusual season was phenomenal."

The History: Penn College will make its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III postseason in any sport since becoming full members of the association in 2017.

The golf team became just the second team in Penn College history to win a NEAC Championship, joining the 2015 baseball team (which wasn't able to participate in the NCAA tournament because the institution was still in its provisional year of Division III).

Penn College's last golf conference title was in 2008 as members of the Penn State University Athletic Conference, while its last individual conference champion was Corey Teeple's 2013 PSUAC title.

Up Next: The Wildcats will travel to Wheeling, WV., May 11-14, for the NCAA Division III Championship hosted at the Oglebay Resort & Conference Center.