Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the last two seasons, Wheeling University Head Men’s Golf Coach Rich Conwell has been building the program. With a full roster of young talented golfers, the Cardinals are heading to the 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships looking to climb the ladder. Round one of the competition kicks off Monday morning as the Cardinals battle to get to day three of competition.

Last time out, the Cardinals finished what would be a completely MEC regular season schedule, playing the West Liberty Invitational. The Cardinals started things with a bang, having two of their five golfers setting PRs on the day. They would sit seventh place after 18 holes and looked to hold that standing over the final two rounds. They would remain in that top 10 for the second round, holding the #10 spot, but would just fall out after the third day. They would finish 11th overall, shooting a three-round score of 908. It was their second lowest score of the fall season, just seven strokes behind their three-round score at the Charleston Invitational, where they shot a 301 over three rounds of competition.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was Robin Duzmann, who put together the best tournament of his collegiate career. He led the way after round one, shooting a 70, and would finish round two in a tie for first with IUP’s Alex Swinerton. In that second round, Duzmann would set his new collegiate PR, shooting a 69 and entered the final round tied for first. After nine holes, Duzmann was in the lead, holding a two stroke advantage over Swinerton. It would come down to the final nine holes and Duzmann did his part, shooting par. However, Swinerton would do just enough to tie for the top spot, shooting a -2 over the final nine holes to finish tied for first. Duzmann equaled his first round effort, shooting a 70, bringing his three-day score to 209.

Finishing behind Duzmann was fellow sophomore Ryan Courtney, who worked his way into the top 40, finishing tied for 39th overall with a three-round score of 223. He shot a 76 in round one, and dropped a stroke off that score with a 75 in round two, but it was his third round that would separate him on the day. He shot a 72 in the final 18 holes of competition, moving himself up seven spots on the leaderboard, as he finished his regular season strong. The other standout for the Cardinals was Luis Alvarez, who had his best day of competition to kick-off the event. Alvarez set a new PR in the first round, shooting a 74 and finishing himself in the top 20 of the event. He looks to be one of the Cardinals to crack the top five heading into the tournament as he helps the Cardinals chase down an MEC title.

As the team enters the championship event, they are looking to get back on top of the MEC. As a team, the Cardinals have not made round three of competition since the 2019 season and are looking to do so this season with a young group. The Cardinals nearly had their first individual golfer make it to the final day of competition since Yadhu Urs in 2022 when Phillip Halvorsen misses the mark by one stroke a season ago. The Cardinals are not only looking to make day three, but battle for an MEC Championship.

The 2024 MEC Men’s Golf Championships kicks off on Monday, October 7th, with tee times around 9 AM.