FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Valdosta State men's golf team fired a final round 287 to move up two spots and finish seventh at the 2026 Shark Invitational hosted by Nova Southeastern.  The Blazers carded a 54-hole score of 860 with rounds of 287, 286 and 287 on the par 71, 6,750-yard Grande Oaks Golf Club Course.  
 
No. 4 Florida Southern fired a final round 277 to win the 15-team tournament by four strokes over clubhouse leader No. 15 Nova Southeastern.  Florida Southern finished 21-under for an 831 score, while NSU finished at 835.  There was a tie for third between No. 27 Flagler and No. 16 Barry at 843, while No. 19 Saint Leo rounded out the top five with an 845 score.  
 
Finishing sixth was No. 23 Rollins with an even par score of 852, while VSU was seventh with an 860 score. NJCAA-member Eastern Florida College finished eighth at 863, followed by a tie for ninth between No. 50 Tampa and No. 37 Palm Beach Atlantic at 869.
 
Lynn, who is ranked No. 28, finished 11^th at 873, followed by No. 44 Eckerd at 876, followed by Embry-Riddle (877), Mississippi College (881) and Wilmington (Del.) at 896. 
 
Individually, FSC's Colton Swartz finished 11-under with a 202 score, while NSU's Bruno Marques finished second at 6-under 207.  There was a three-way tie for third between FSC's Max Barile and Flagler's duo of Matthew French and Patrick Herron at 5-under 208.  
 
For the Blazers, junior William Carestam finished his best tournament for the red and black finishing tied for sixth at 4-under 209 on rounds of 68, 72 and 69.  Junior Adam Waller finished tied for 13^th at 2-under 211 on rounds of 72, 70 and 69.  Senior Joshua Burki finished tied for 58^th with a 222 score on rounds of 72, 73 and 77.  Junior Alexander Nilehn finished tied for 62^nd with a 223 score on rounds of 75, 76 and 72, while junior Nick Mueller tied for 73^rd with a 227 score after carding rounds of 79, 71 and 77.  
 
The second and first seeded region rankings for NCAA postseason will be announced on Friday as the Blazers were one of 11 teams under consideration in the first rankings released two weeks ago.  The Blazers picked up wins over Palm Beach Atlantic, Lynn and Embry-Riddle who also were under consideration in the first rankings.  
 
In the Southeastern Collegiate last week, VSU finished eighth and came away with big wins over Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach Atlantic, Lynn, Saint Leo and Lee who were in the initial rankings.  The NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional will be hosted by VSU at Valdosta Country Club May 7-9.  
 
VSU concludes the regular season at the Argonaut Invitational Mar. 30-31 at Pensacola Country Club in Pensacola, Fla., hosted by West Florida.  The Blazers then will prepare for the Gulf South Conference Championship Apr. 20-22, in Dickson, Tenn., at Grey Stone Golf Club.