Mustangs Finish Heart Championships in Fifth

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Mustang men's golf team wrapped up the Heart Championships by taking fifth in the tournament held at LionsGate GC in Kansas City.

The Pioneers of MidAmerica Nazarene took home the conference crown, ending with a team score of 39-over, shooting a tournament best 293 during the third and final round. Park would finish in second place as the Pioneers ran away with the tournament, as the second place Pirates finished at 72-over, 33 shots behind MNU. Grand View and Baker were the other two schools in the top five ahead of the Mustangs, ending with team scores of 86 and 90-over. The Mustangs would finish in fifth with a team score of 94-over, while shooting a team best 316 in the second round.

On the individual side, Gavin Dines and Hunter Schmidt finished tied atop the leaderboard, ending at seven-over, as each golfer would shoot rounds of even par, three-over, and four-over, respectively. Schmidt would jump ahead on the leaderboard after shooting an even par round in the final 18 holes.

For the Mustangs, Frank Haege and Freddie Walker would each finish in the top-20, with Walker finishing in 18th at 22-over, while Haege would finish in 19th at 23-over. Walker would shoot his best round of the tournament over the final 18 holes, shooting a 77, good for a five-over round. Walker would card three birdies on his final nine. As for Haege, his best round would come in the second round at four-over 76, carding four birdies and nine pars on the scorecard.

Junn Yong would end his tournament at 25-over, carding his best round in the second 18 holes with a six-over 78. He would card seven pars and two birdies on the round. Rounding out the countable scores was Ziwen Zhong, ending his tournament in 29th place at 27-over. Zhong was relatively consistent for his tournament, as each round was within a shot difference as the last. Zhong would card seven birdies for his tournament.

The Mustangs will await their postseason fate, as the qualifiers will be announced in early May as the NAIA Championships will take place at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.