MARSHALL, Minn. – Highlighted by a top-10 finish for freshman
Klara Kleinig, the Chadron State women's golf program finished eighth out of 12 competing programs at the EverSpring Inn & Suites Mustang Invite, hosted by Southwest Minnesota State University.
As a team, the Eagles had a two-round score of 54-over-par 630, the lowest stroke total of the season for the program. The Eagles finished just five strokes behind seventh-place Minnesota-Crookston and 15 strokes behind sixth-place Morningside, while clearing ninth-place hosts Southwest Minnesota State by 33 strokes.
Kleinig shot 6-over-par 150 to finish tied for 10
th in the event. She used a strong second round of 2-over 74 to clinch a top-10 finish after an opening round of 4-over 76 on Saturday. Kleinig had two birdies, two bogeys and one double-bogey in her round, remaining steady down the stretch as she closed with six consecutive pars.
Kleinig, who was born in Germany but attended high school as an exchange student in Kansas before coming to Chadron, was the program's top finisher for the first time in her career after finishing second among Eagle golfers in each of CSC's first two competitions.
Junior
Payton Wise finished in 29
th place out of a 78-golfer field with a final score of 14-over 158. Wise also improved from round one to round two, carding a 9-over-par 81 on Saturday but a 5-over-par 77 on Sunday to move her seven spots up the leaderboard on the event's final day.
CSC freshmen
Allison Sanger (T-48
th, 21-over 165),
Maggie Teague (51
st, 23-over 167) and
Brooklyn Tychsen (T-52
nd, 24-over 168) also competed over the weekend, with Teague competing as an individual. Eagle junior
Aubree Heinsma only completed one of two rounds and didn't factor into the final standings, but shot well with three birdies and a round of 6-over-par 78.
Augustana won the team competition by five strokes over Northwest Missouri State. Just 10 strokes separated the top four of Augustana, Northwest Missouri, Minnesota State-Mankato and Sioux Falls. Augustana also took home individual medalist honors with Masyn Mock finishing at 2-under-par for the event. Chadron was the only RMAC team competing in the invite.
The Eagles will next hit the links on Monday, October 7 for the two-day Samuel Proal Invite hosted by RMAC foe CSU Pueblo. That tournament will conclude CSC's fall season before competition resumes in the spring.
