Wheeling, W. Va. – When Rich Conwrll took over as Wheeling University’s new Head Golf Coach, he was tasked with rebuilding a program from the ground up. In two seasons, he has built a roster with 10 golfers that has totaled the biggest roster for the team since the 2019 season. The Cardinals are looking to use a mix of veteran experience and new talent to continue their push to climb the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men’s Golf ladder.

In 2023, the Cardinals embarked on a season with a roster comprised of almost all freshman and one senior leader along the way. They competed in four different invitationals in the fall and had success, bringing home top 10 finishes in each. They started the year at the CAL-U Vulcans Invitational, where they finished ninth overall, posting a three round score of 918. After taking home a 10th place finish at the Charleston Golden Eagle Invitational, the team came back for a historic effort at Davis & Elkins. They finished third as a team, and during the tournament set the new single round team score record (277) and had a golfer set the new single round individual record (65). The team was riding high on confidence heading into the MEC Championships, but just missed out on making the third round, finishing ninth overall with a two-day score of 648.

As they head into 2024, the team returns several of the key pieces from last year’s growth. Leading the way is sophomore Phillip Halvorsen, who sat just one stroke away from becoming the first individual golfer since 2021 to make the third round of the MEC Championships. He put together an average score of 77 across his 16 rounds of golf and finished 20th overall with a two-day score of 157. The Cardinals will also look to sophomore Ryan Courtney to continue his progression from the fall. He was the one to set the new single round individual record when he shot a 65 at the Dr. Wally Edgell Invitational. Like Halvorsen, Courtney put together an average round score of 77 across 15 rounds of play and looks to lower that average even further in 2024.

Also added to this year’s group is a strong recruiting class looking to make an immediate impact. Lodin Femoen, Lorenzo Lupi, and Caleb Minson were added to the team this off-season bringing the total roster to 10 golfers. With more depth on the team, they have been holding qualifiers for each tournament, with the top five to qualify getting to compete at each event. With this level of competition, Conwell is excited for the drive and motivation it gives his guys to be better on the course every single day.

“It looks like based on the qualifying thus far there are going to be at least two new players in this,” said Conwell. “So [for this first event at Charleston] I think what I would really like to see is a top four finish, I really would.”

Throughout the fall, the Cardinals will play an all MEC schedule, with three regular season events leading up to the 2024 MEC Men’s Golf Championships. They kick things off this weekend at the University of Charleston Golden Eagle Invitational, where they will get their first glimpse of the conference opponents they will compete against throughout the year. They then return to the course where they put together their historic effort at the Dr. Wally Edgell Invitational September 16th and 17th and wrap up the regular season at the West Liberty Invitational September 23rd and 24th. Conwell said he designed the schedule to give his team a sense of familiarity with the competition they would face throughout the year.

“Its good to be in that arena a lot because then when it comes to conferences it’s just the same guys you have been facing,” said Conwell. “Im also hoping since we have a year under our belt and we came so close to making the finals last year in the conference we should be just fine.”

The Wheeling University Men’s Golf team kicks off the season on Monday, September 9th, when they compete on day one of the Charleston Invitational with tee time at 9 AM.