STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – After the first of the two-day Penn State Division III Challenge on Saturday, the Penn State Altoona men's golf team found itself in second place out of six teams.

Penn State Harrisburg shot 319 as a team to take first place after Saturday's round, which was played at Penn State's Blue Course. Penn State Altoona shot 321 as a team to rank second, and Penn State Abington was third with 322.

Penn College placed fourth with 332, Penn State Behrend was fifth with 335, and Penn State Berks rounded out the pack with 337.

"What a great experience for our Division III golfers to compete against and build camaraderie with our fellow Penn Staters. I hope this starts a great tradition and a great competition," said Penn State Altoona golf head coach Tom Koehle. "We didn't play our best today, but all of our players had enough bright spots to build some momentum into tomorrow. I am excited for a tight competition heading into tomorrow's round."

Andrew Ferguson (Altoona, PA/Tyrone), Nathan Graham (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin), and Trey Heffelfinger (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) each shot 79 on the par 72 course to tie for fifth place individually out of 36 total golfers who competed in Saturday's action. Jacob Carlin (Fayetteville, PA/Chambersburg) and Logan Divald (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) each carded 84 to tie for 16th place individually.

The Lions and their fellow Penn State Division III men's golf counterparts will return for the second and final day of this weekend's tournament tomorrow, Sunday, April 3. Sunday's round will be played at Penn State's White Course and is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

"It looks like we will be battling some cold and the elements tomorrow," said Koehle. "We need to be mentally strong and ready for the challenge."