Photo: Penn State Altoona freshman Luke Hoffnagle tied for 12th place individually at the end of the Allegheny College Kuhn Memorial Invitational on Monday.
Photo: Penn State Altoona freshman Luke Hoffnagle tied for 12th place individually at the end of the Allegheny College Kuhn Memorial Invitational on Monday.

Lions Golf Finishes 10th in Allegheny Invitational

MEADVILLE, Pa. - After the second and final day of the 44th Annual Guy and Jean Kuhn Memorial Invitational, hosted by Allegheny College at the Country Club of Meadville, the Penn State Altoona golf team placed 10th out of 18 teams.

Wittenberg University, the defending NCAA Division III national champions, won the event by one stroke. The Tigers posted a team score of 306 on Monday after Sunday's 299. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was the runner-up, shooting 297 on Monday to combine for 606.

After scoring 318 on Sunday, Penn State Altoona improved by three shots to finish Monday's round with 315. The Lions' combined score of 633 put them in 10th place, just one shot behind fellow Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend and its total of 632.

"We were able to improve our team score today from round one," said Penn State Altoona men's golf head coach Tom Koehle. "We hung right in with a strong regional field. With three freshmen in the lineup, I'm thrilled our progress at this point."

One of those freshmen, Luke Hoffnagle (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove), shot 78 on Monday, finishing the day 6-over par to lead Penn State Altoona. With a two-day score of 151, Hoffnagle tied for 12th place individually out of 99 golfers.

Sophomore Chris Michelone (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle) showed the best improvement on the team from Sunday to Monday, finishing round two 17 strokes better than his round one score. Michelone tied for second on the team with a 79 on Monday.

Freshman Jimmy Gillespie (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley) finished with a combined score of 160, ranking second-best on the team over the two days of competition and tying for 43rd place individually. His Monday score of 79 represented a two-shot improvement from his round one score.

Sophomore Pongthong Thongyai (Patum Thani, Thailand/New Mexico Military Institute) also golfed a 79 on Monday, improving by four shots from his score on Sunday and totaling 162 for the two rounds.

Freshman Hunter Duriez (Northern Cambria, PA/Northern Cambria) remained consistent, following his 81 on Sunday with an 82 on Monday to combine for 163.

"Luke played a solid round, backing up his great round yesterday," said Koehle. "Chris, Jimmy, and Pete were able to lower their scores, as well."

Next up is the Lions' lone home event of the season, the Penn State Altoona Invitational, which is set to occur this Saturday, September 16 at Sinking Valley Country Club. The invitational is expected to tee off at 1:00 p.m. that day.