Dornes, Miller help Penn State take lead at Kingsmill Intercollegiate

   Penn State, No. 47 in the latest Golfstat rankings, continued its run of strong play Monday as the Nittany Lions took over the lead through two rounds of the Kingsmill Intercollegiate on the River Course at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.

    Penn State will be gunning for a second straight tournament victory in Tuesday’s final round. The Nittany Lions captured the team crown in the Seminole Intercollegiate at Tallahassee, Fla. in their last outing earlier this month.

   Led by sophomore Ryan Dornes, a former Manheim Township standout, and junior Cole Miller, who starred scholastically at Northwestern Lehigh, the Nittany Lions carded a 4-over-par 284 over the 6,778-yard, par-72 River Course layout, which, combined with an opening-round 283, left them at 7-over 567.

   No. 65 Tennessee is three shots back in second place at 10-over 570 after matching Penn State’s 4-over 284 Monday. No. 78 Louisville, which grabbed the first round lead with an even-par 280, fell back with a 293 and is alone in third, three shots behind Louisville at 573.

   The day’s best round belonged to No. 85 Eastern Kentucky, which bounced back from opening-round 304 with a 6-under 274 and sits in fourth place at 18-over 578. No. 187 Marshall is fifth at 581 after posting a 287 and No. 123 Sam Houston State is another shot back in sixth at 582 after carding a 292.

   Temple improved its team score by seven shots, from 303 to 296, and is tied for 11^th in the 22-team field with Old Dominion at 599.

   Dornes and Miller are tied for second in the individual chase at 1-under 139, two shots back of Marshall’s Clark Robinson, a senior from South Windsor, Conn. Robinson fired a 4-under 66 to grab the individual lead at 3-under 137.

   Dornes added an even-par 70 to his opening-round 69. Miller, coming off his first collegiate individual win at the Seminole, was the low man for the Lions for the day with a 1-under 69 after matching par in the opening round.

   Penn State has another player in the top 10 in freshman Ryan Davis, a freshman from Berkeley Heights, N.J. who is tied for eighth at 4-over 144 after signing for a 1-over 71. Christian Elliott, a senior from Canada, is tied for 16^th at 5-over 145 after carding a 74 and Charles Huntzinger, a sophomore from Duluth, Ga., is tied for 61^st at 152 after also checking in with a 74.

   Louisville’s Nicolas Piatret, a junior from France, had a share of the individual lead with his opening-round 68, but fell back a little with a 72 and is alone in fourth place at even-par 140. Tennessee’s Nolan Ray is another shot back in fifth at 1-over 141 after carding a 1-over 71.

   Drake’s Tommi Avant, a sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., and Sam Houston State’s Andrew Ertel, a senior from The Woodlands, Texas, are tied for sixth at 2-over 142. Avant matched par with a 70 in the second round while Ertel added a 73 to his opening-round 69.

   Temple was led by John Barone, a redshirt sophomore from Dunmore who matched par with a 70 Monday and is tied for 16^th at 5-over 145.

   Junior Mark Farley, a Calvary Christian product, is tied for 61^st at 152 after carding a 75. It was a disappointing day for Trey Wren, a sophomore from Suffolk, Va. Wren had opened with a 73, but fell back with an 80 and is tied for 67^th at 153. He is joined at the figure by freshman Marty McGuckin, the Inter-Ac League champion as a senior at Malvern Prep, who added a 75 to his opening-round 78.

   Redshirt freshman Erik Reisner, a two-time Central League champion at Harriton, bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 76 and is tied for 84^th at 156.

   Sophomore Sam Soeth, a former Marple Newtown standout, is competing as an individual, but didn’t get on the course in Sunday’s opening round, possibly owing to the early snow that delayed the start of play. He did get some swings in Monday, but he probably wasn’t too happy with an 85.