Rochester, MN-
As teams reach the halfway point of the 2018 NJCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championships in Chautauqua, New York, Minnesota College Athletic Conference representative M State is in the top four of teams chasing a national title.
Coach Jason Retzlaff's team shot a 318 on the second round of competition, placing them currently fourth among the 30 squads participating. Georgia Military College stands alone in first place with a two-day total of 639.
Spartan Mason Landborg carded a 77 in Round Two, which helped place him in tie for the second best individual score and is within two strokes of the tournament leader, Trey May of GMC.
Team Standings & Composite Scores after two rounds of play are as follows:
1.Georgia Military College, 621
2.Vincennes University, 625
3.Sandhills CC, 638
4.M State-Fergus Falls, 639
5.County College of Morris, 646
6.Bucks County CC, 663
T7.Massasoit CC, 669
T7.SUNY Adirondack College, 669
9.Onondaga CC, 674
10.Anne Arundel CC, 678
11.College of DuPage, 699
12.Nassau CC, 701
M-State Spartans Individual Scores for Round 2:
Hunter Moen, 76
Mason Landborg, 77
Blake Bloedorn, 82
Nick Kress, 83
Jordan Kern, 88
Two day totals for the Spartans:
Mason Landborg, 152
Hunter Moen, 156
Blake Bloedorn, 165
Nick Kress, 166
Jordan Kern, 172
Coach Retzlaff after Day Two:
"It was a day that was so close to being a great round for our team but unfortunately we just couldn't finish it off on the last three holes. Overall, our players got off to much better starts to their rounds and I felt we had a better grasp of the greens today as well. We simply had too many big numbers late in the round that turned a potentially great round into a solid round. I think we are very close and can hopefully put up a low number tomorrow."
"Hunter Moen was very steady today with 12 pars, 1 birdie, and nothing worse than a bogey. After struggling on his front 9 yesterday, he has played tremendous golf. Mason Landborg also backed up his 75 with a very nice round today and is right near the top of the leaderboard."
The Spartans tee off for Round 3 on Thursday at 10:40am CST.
Photo of Hunter Moen, courtesy of MSFF Athletics