The Kent State men’s golf team placed sixth in the General Hackler Collegiate Invitational in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, securing the team’s third top-10 finish of the season.

“There were a lot of teams that ranked top 50 there and we still managed to beat a couple teams that ranked ahead of us,” coach Jon Mills said. “But we’re obviously in a position to do really well if we had finished in that top three so we can get that bid for regionals at the end of the season.” 

The team finished with an overall score of 10-above-par 874. 

“I think it was just a struggle as a whole dealing with the conditions,” Mills said. “We should be used to the bad weather and we did not seem to deal with it as well as some of the other teams.”

Sophomore Cade Breitenstine and junior Julien Paltrinieri both finished in the top 20, with Breitenstine tying for 11th and Paltrinieri tying for 19th. 

“It was great to see Cade play well,” Mills said. “He’s been playing some good, solid golf for us.”

Breitenstine finished with a total score of 216 even.

“Julien seems to be right in there every week,” Mills said. “He’s establishing himself as a pretty solid player for us, which is key.”

Other players finished in the top 50 including senior Josh Gilkison who tied for 25th with a score of four-above-par 220, junior Jared Wilson who tied for 44th with a score of eight-above-par 224 and sophomore Chris Vandette who tied for 49th with a score of nine-above-par 225.

The team will be traveling back to South Carolina for the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate March 28-30. 

“It’s an event that we definitely have a chance to win,” Mills said. “We know the golf course very well.”

Pilar Lewis is a sports reporter. Contact her at [email protected].