HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The Penn State Altoona men's golf team finished in 37th place out of 43 teams by the conclusion of the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Wednesday, hosted by Mission Inn Resort and Club.

The Lions shot 336 as a team on the par 71 Las Colinas course, recording a two-day score of 664 to place 37th out of 43 squads. By not finishing within the top 18 places on the team leaderboard, Penn State Altoona does not make the cut to qualify for the next two rounds of the NCAA Championship and is eliminated from the tournament.

"We had a great experience, and I couldn't be more proud of this group, especially being so young," said Penn State Altoona head coach Tom Koehle. "Our future is bright, and it is up to this group to put in the work, condition, prepare, and be determined to take the next step in their individual games and for the program on a national level."

Methodist University came back with a strong performance in day two to move into first place with a two-round score of 581. Carnegie Mellon University follows in second place with 587, and Hampden-Sydney College ascended the standings into third place with 589.

Trey Heffelfinger (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union) was the Lions' top performer on the day, shaving two strokes off of his score from Tuesday by shooting 78 in Wednesday's round to finish with a two-day score of 158, tying for 96th place individually out of 221 total golfers. Andrew Ferguson (Altoona, PA/Tyrone) also finished with a combined score of 158 to rank in a tie for 96th place, after he fired 82 on Wednesday.

"Andrew and Trey have been our leaders since day one, and it showed the last two days," Koehle stated. "Both learned what it takes to succeed at this level, and it will help us prepare for next season, as we look to defend the AMCC title and return to the NCAAs."

Nathan Graham (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) had a nine-shot improvement over his first-round score, following Tuesday up by shooting 84 in Wednesday's round to tie for 202nd place with a two-day combined score of 177.

Logan Divald (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) compiled a two-day score of 172 to finish tied for 190th place, after he shot 93 on Wednesday. Jacob Carlin (Fayetteville, PA/Chambersburg) was one shot better than his Tuesday score, carding 92 on Wednesday and finishing with a two-day score of 185.

Penn State Altoona golf finishes its 2021-22 season having competed in 21 total rounds in the fall and spring semesters. The Lions, who averaged 314.24 per round as a team throughout their schedule, won their sixth Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship last October. The team's conference title earned it an automatic qualification berth to the NCAA Division III Championship, where the program made its fifth-ever appearance this week.