DICKSON, Tenn. – The Valdosta State men's golf team shot a final round 289 to finish with a 54-hole score of 872 to finish tied with Trevecca Nazarene for fifth at the 2026 Gulf South Conference Championships Wednesday.  VSU carded rounds of 290, 293, and 289 on the par 72, 6,858-yard Greystone Golf Club course.  Blazer junior Alexander Nilehn paced the team finishing ninth with a 3-under 213 score.    
 
Top-ranked West Florida edged No. 2 Lee by one stroke for the conference title.  UWF finished 22-under for an 842 score, while Lee finished at 21-under (843).  Union fired a final round 5-under 283 to finish third as the Bulldogs tallied a 54-hole score of 857 and was 10-under combined in the final two rounds after opening with a 291.  Mississippi College finished fourth at 868, while VSU and TNU (297, 286, 289) tied for fifth (872).  
 
Following VSU and TNU, Delta State finished seventh at 893, followed by Christian Brothers (900) and Montevallo was ninth at 912. 
 
Individually, Lee's Drew Zielinski birdied the 54^th hole to edge Mississippi College's Joao Iglesias and Union's Lane Carr by one stroke.  Zielinski finished 10-under 206 (71, 67, 68), while Iglesias and Carr each were 9-under 207. UWF's Per Ekelund fired a final round 67 to move up seven places Wednesday to finish fourth at 6-under 210.  
 
UWF duo of Cooper Tendick and TJ Thompson along with Lee tandem of Bennett McNabb and Billy Boroughs tied for fifth at 5-under 211.  Nilehn finished ninth with rounds of 72, 70 and 71 for a 213 score.  Blazer junior William Carestam finished tied for 11^th at 1-under 215 on rounds of 70, 73, 72.  
 
Junior Adam Waller finished tied for 21^st with a 222 score on rounds of 73, 74, 75, while freshman Kaleb Shiver also tied for 21^st on rounds of 75, 76, 71.  Wednesday Blazer senior substitute Joshua Burki replaced senior Elad Sebbag and fired a 76.  Sebbagg finished 46^th with rounds of 84 and 81 for a 165 score.  
 
VSU finished tied for second in par three scoring at 3.22, while the Blazers had two eagles.  VSU finished with the third-most pars (172) and the fifth-most birdies (38).  Nilehn tied for first on par 3 scoring at 1-under for a 2.92 average score, while he also tied for first in par 4 scoring at 4-under and a 3.87 average.  Carestam had an eagle on No. 9 in the first round, while Burki fired an eagle Wednesday on No. 2.  
 
The Blazers now will await their NCAA postseason fate as the NCAA is scheduled to announce the 2026 Division II Men's Golf National Tournament on Sunday afternoon/evening.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information.
 
VSU will be hosting the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Golf South/Southeast Super Regional, scheduled for May 7-9 at Valdosta Country Club in Valdosta.  There will three automatic qualifiers for the South Region, the winners of the Gulf South Conference, Sunshine State Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).  
 
A total of seven teams, including the top two individuals not with a team from. each regional (regardless of region) will advance to the finals. Tiebreakers and playoffs will be used to determine advancement to the finals, as well as team and individual champions.  The 2026 NCAA Division II National Championship is set for May 18-22 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev.