DADE CITY, Fla. – The Valdosta State men's golf team fired an even par 288 Tuesday to finish fifth at the Saint Leo Invitational with a 54-hole score of 857 on the par 72, 7,054-yard Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club course.
The Blazers finished its best tournament of the season at 7-under and the first top five finish of the year. Freshman
Adam Waller paced the team with a 3-under 213 score (74-69-70) to finish tied for 17
th, while junior
Parker Highsmith finished tied for 22
nd with a 2-under 214 score on rounds of 70, 72, 72. Junior
Chase Long finished tied for 28
th at even par 216 on rounds of 74, 71 and 71, while junior
Brandon Cho tied for 36
th with a 218 score on rounds of 70, 73 and 75. Sophomore
Joshua Burki tied for 46
th at 219 on rounds of 76, 69 and 75.
Playing as an individual, freshman
Alexander Nilehn finished tied for 15
th with a 4-under 212 score on rounds of 76, 68, 68. He was the top individual finisher in the tournament.
The host No. 11 Saint Leo Saints won the 20-team tournament with an 833 score on rounds of 277, 280 and 276. Keiser University (NAIA) finished second with an 848 score, followed by a tie for third between Barry and No. 17 Nova Southeastern at 850. VSU rounded out the top five, edging No. 7 Florida Southern by one stroke (858). No. 3 Lee finished seventh (861), followed by Tampa (863) and a tie for ninth between Montevallo and Tusculum (864).
Keiser's isac Wallin finished 17-under to earn medalist honors with a 199 score (65,67,67), while Saint Leo's Adrian Soriano finished second at 11-under 205 (63,69,73). There was a tie for third at 208 and a four-way tie for fifth 209. In all, 27 competitors finished under par and an additional six shot even par.
In one of the best team performances over the past few seasons, the Blazers carded five eagles for the tournament and 56 birdies, along with 159 pars. The five eagles led the field as both Waller and Burki had two eagles each and Nilehn had one.
It also marked the best finish in a tournament since the team finished fifth in the same tournament on Feb. 21-22, 2022, when the team finished with an 858 score.
The Blazers return home to host the Southeastern Collegiate Mar. 11-12 at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
