Wheeling, W.Va. – In just one week, the Wheeling University Men’s Golf team will compete in the 2022 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men’s Golf Championship. Before that, they will play their final tune-up as they head to Steubenville Country Club for the West Liberty Invitational on Monday and Tuesday. It will be the Cardinals final tune-up before they get to face the best of the best the conference has to offer.
In their last outing, the men finished 15th out of 16 teams at the Charleston Invitational, shooting a combined 642 across the two day event. The Cardinals started out with a 323 through the first 18 holes of competition, and held the 15th spot after day one. They were able to come back stronger on day two, lowering their score to 319, but it wasn’t enough for them to gain any traction in the standings. For Wheeling, it was an improvement from last season’s Charleston Invitational, when the Cardinals finished 16th in the field. The young Men’s Golfers are finding their groove and continue to grow as the season goes on.
Leading the way for the Cardinals once again was junior Austin Panhorst, who continues his outstanding season. He shot a 79 in the first round and was able to lower his score to 77 in round two. Panhorst has been the Cardinal’s top golfer this season with an average score of 74.25 through his first two invitationals of the season. Panhorst is the only member of the Cardinals’ Men’s Golf program to have competed in two MEC Championship events and will look to lead the young team through the event. Panhorst was the team’s leading golfer at the event during the 2020 championship and the second best golfer at last season’s event. He looks for his first-ever All Conference award this season.
Behind him are a pair of young players looking to show what they can do on the big stage. Sophomore Nick Zaller has been a consistent presence for the Cardinals, and has shot an 80 or better in three of the four rounds this season. He opened the Charleston Invitational with a 77 and finished his first two rounds of the season and has an average score of 78 through their first two events. Sophomore Blake Ring-Fish had his best showing of the year at the Charleston Invitational, shooting a combined 164 between the two rounds of the event. Ring-Fish and Zaller will look to continue to lower their scores and be key pieces for the Cardinals down the stretch.
In this final invitational of the season, the Cardinals are looking to continue to lower their scores in preparation for the MEC Championships. After many of the Cardinals competed in their first ever conference championships last season, Wheeling is looking to build off of that experience this season. Four of Wheeling’s top five golfers have already completed the conference championships and they almost made it to day three last season. This year, Wheeling is looking to make it to day three of the event and have a shot at competing in that coveted third round. First, they will look to get one more shot in the course as they compete in this final conference invitational.
Invitational Details
The West Liberty Invitational will be played at the Steubenville Country Club located in Steubenville, Ohio. It is a full 18-hole, par 72, golf course that will challenge the golfers on both the greens and the fairways. The Cardinals also competed at last season’s West Liberty Invitational, which was played at the Oglebay Invitational in the spring season.
Wheeling would finish 11th out if the 12 teams at the event with a combined score of 325. Former Cardinals Yadhu Urs led the way, shooting a 213, and Austin Panhorst added a 230 over the three day event. Four of the five Cardinals competed last season and look to continue their development.
The Details
Round one of the West Liberty Invitational is set to tee off on Monday, September 26th, at 7:45 AM. You can follow the action with Live Results by clicking HERE.