Northwest Wayne News

The Wayne State University men's golf team secured a fifth-place finish at the Saginaw Valley State's Spring Invitational held at Kearney Hill Golf Links. The Warriors ended the two-day event with a score of 582 (+6, 287-295), competing against 21 teams. Adam Burghardt led the team, tying for sixth place individually with a score of 140 (-4, 69-71).

Head coach Mike Horn commented on the team's performance, stating, "Overall, today was a tough day. We really had trouble with the wind gusting up to 30 miles an hour. The green complexes and the pin locations were tough. Hats off to Adam and Ian for playing very well. Overall, our finish wasn't awful, but it's not what we are expecting. We will have to work real hard on our short game the next couple of weeks. We will have to step up our grit in the tough conditions. As good as yesterday was, today was equally disappointing. With that said, we are still in very good shape and control our own destiny. We have a very bright future this spring if we clean some stuff up."

Burghardt's previous best finish was a tie-for-seventh at last season's GLIAC Championships. Competing as an individual this time, he has now placed among the top 10 twice and top 25 four times in his career.

Joining Burghardt in strong performances were Max Leppelmeier and Ian Smith, who finished tied for 11th and tied for 13th respectively. Leppelmeier shot a one-under 143 (70-73), while Smith recorded an even par of 144 (74-70). Mat Hawryluk and Tyler Hurtubise both tied for 45th place with rounds of 73 and 76.

Josh DiCarlo completed Wayne State's main lineup by tying for 52nd place with a seven-over-par score of 151 (71-80). Also competing as individuals were Josh Lahner in a tie-for-65th (+8) and Harrison Chapman in a tie-for-75th (+9).

Wayne State is set to participate next in the Findlay Spring Invitational scheduled for March 25-26.