Penn State Secures D1 Bid at Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Regional Qualifier
Twelve Colleges battled for four bids this weekend at Dynamic Discs’ Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Regional powered by Revasri Rangefinder. The Title Sponsors donated one hundred Dynamic Discs for player packs and Revasri Rangefinders for the teams participating in the event.
On Saturday’s opening Round One, Rochester Institute of Technology jumped out to an early two stroke lead over Ohio State, led by Seniors Evan Cole (-8), Andrew Dorrell (-5), and Eric Ford (-1). Evan’s eight under par was the hot single score besting OSU’s Levi Knapp by two.
During Round Two Team Alternate Doubles format, Ohio State flipped the script shooting an incredible fourteen under par to take a two stroke lead over RIT heading into Sunday’s Final Team Round. Penn State, Houghton, Kentucky and Toledo all trailed closely behind battling for a limited number of qualifying bids to the National Championship.
Cheers were heard throughout Shawmut Depot all weekend as spotters, fans and players witnessed two hole-in-one aces by RIT’s Andrew Dorrell and EMU’s Caleb Oesch, and an albatross two on the Hole 4’s gauntlet Par 5 by Toledo’s Bobby Belair.
On Sunday’s Final 9 Individual Playoff, it was a battle of three between Evan Cole, Levi Knapp and Houghton Freshman Carter Sisson, who made up a five stroke deficit in nine holes on the Chase Card. On Shawmut Depot’s finale 857 foot Par 5, Evan Cole executed three placement shots to leave a 15-foot birdie putt and 1st Place.
Toledo University’s hot round of fourteen under overtook Houghton and Kentucky on Sunday to secure fourth place. After a tri-state battle at the top, Ohio State pulled away in the final holes to secured their second Regional victory with a three day total of 171 (twenty-four under par). Penn State’s Grady Iliff, Jake Fenimore, Bryant Stangel and Declan Flanagan finished Second with a total of 174, and earned a D1 bid to the National Championship. Rochester Institute of Technology’s Evan Cole, Andrew Dorrell, Eric Ford and Erik Muschinske also earned a D1 bid with a third place finish.
The final round lead cards were filmed and post-round video will be released on YouTube by Ace Run Productions out of Atlanta, Georgia. “I want to thank all of the event sponsors, volunteers, and Shawmut Depot Disc Golf Course for supporting College Disc Golf. This event exceeded everyone’s expectations, and we will no doubt see continued growth in this Region.”
The raffle on Sunday raised over a thousand dollars for disc golf equipment at Smethport and Johnsonburg elementary schools.