Lycoming News

For the second consecutive day, junior Peyton Mussina achieved a sub-par round at the NCAA Division III Men's Championship, marking a significant milestone as he became the first Penn College player to advance past the 36-hole cut into the final rounds of the tournament.

The Wildcats concluded Day 2 with a score of 304, slightly improving from their previous day's performance for a total of 609, securing them 29th place among 43 teams. This marks an improvement from last year's finish in 37th place.

Mussina excelled on the par-72, 7,077-yard Legacy Golf Club course with a score of 3-under 33 on the front nine and 1-under 35 on the back nine, culminating in a round of 68. Combined with his initial round of 69 at Boulder Creek Golf Club, Mussina is tied for second place at 137, just one stroke behind the leader.

In other individual performances for Penn College on Wednesday: Gavin Baer scored a two-day total of 153 to tie for 125th; Will Orwig finished with a total of 158 to tie for 169th; Trevor Keaton recorded a total of 162 to tie for 191st; and Gunner Redmond completed his rounds with a total of 168 to tie for 205th. The team's overall score is based on its four lowest scores.

The field began with teams and golfers but was narrowed down after two rounds. Redlands led with a team score of 563, followed by Kenyon College at 565 and Methodist University at third with a score of 566. Individually, Mike O'Sullivan from Oglethorpe leads at the top with a score of136.

"It's awesome. It's awesome," said coach Rob Lytle about Mussina's performance. "Peyton played well. One bogey for two days is pretty good. He told me it (the bogey Wednesday) fired him up to play hard. He's pretty determined to finish as high as he can."

Lytle emphasized that patience and maintaining play consistency will be crucial for Mussina in the remaining rounds.

Mussina will continue his participation on Thursday and Friday at Boulder Creek Golf Club, starting his next round at9:30a.m.Pacific time on Thursday.