VICTOR, N.Y. — On a chilly and soggy Wednesday when birdies were difficult to come by, Penn College senior Peyton Mussina carded a one-over-par 73, giving him a two-day 145 and a tie for fourth in the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship. That allows him to play on for another two days for the second year in a row.
Teamwise, the Wildcats' season came to a close with a two-day 654 that placed them 41st among 43 teams. Only the top 18 teams and six individuals not on those teams continue to play on Thursday and Friday.
How it happened: Penn College scored a 337 on Wednesday on the 6,770-yard Cobblestone Creek Country Club course, 20 strokes higher than on Tuesday when they played on the 6,558-yard Midvale Country Club course.
Inside the box: Mussina had two birdies on Wednesday to go with four during his opening-round 72 that saw him tied for 10th in a field of 225. Also for the Wildcats, Brady Handy, with three birdies on Wednesday, recorded his second consecutive 83 for a 166 total and tied for 192nd, Will Orwig shot 83-89—172 to tie for 210th, Logan Gawlinski shot 79-96—175 to tie for 216th, and Gunner Redmond shot 84-92—176 for 218th. Only the low four scores count toward the team total.
The field: Illinois Wesleyan, ranked fifth in the country, surged to the top with a 595 total, two strokes lower than Kenyon and Huntingdon. Carnegie Mellon is fourth at 598, Aurora is fifth at 600, and top-ranked Methodist College is sixth at 601.
Individually, Will Karkoc of Bethel, Minnesota, shot under par for the second day and took solo possession of first place with rounds of 68-70—138. Edward Coffren of Lynchburg, who shared the first-day lead with Karkoc, came in with a 73 and a two-day 141 for second, while Kevin Mu of Emory is third at 142 (69-73). Mussina is one of four golfers tied for fourth.
Up next: Mussina tees off from hole 10 of the Midvale course at 10:30 a.m., on Thursday as he will look to earn All-America honors after the final round on Friday.
