Taylor helps Drexel claim second straight team crown at J.T. Poston Invitational

 

   Behind Caleb Taylor, a sophomore from Woodbine, Md., Drexel made it two tournament wins in a row by taking the team crown in the J.T. Poston Invitational hosted by Western Carolina, which wrapped up Sept. 26 at the Country Club of Sapphire Valley in Sapphire, N.C.

   Taylor added a pair of 2-under-par 69s to his opening-round 70 to finish among a group of eight players tied for sixth place at 5-under 208 over the par-71 Sapphire Valley layout.

   Drexel really made its move in the afternoon round of the opening-day double round Sept. 25^th as the Dragons fired a sizzling 12-under 272, the low team round of the tournament, to take over the top spot in the team standings. Drexel had opened with a 1-over 285.

   Drexel, representing the Coastal Athletic Association, then closed with a solid 2-under 282 for a 13-under 839 total that was six shots clear of CAA rival Elon. Combined with its team win in the Temple Invitational at The 1912 Club, it marked the first time since 2015 that Drexel had won team crowns in back-to-back tournaments.

   Oscar Maxfield, a graduate student from Salt Lake City, Utah who was coming off a runnerup finish in the individual standings in the Temple Invitational, led the Dragons’ second-round surge with a sparkling 6-under 65.

   Drue Nicholas, a product of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. and St. Augustine Prep, also had his best round of the tournament, a 4-under 67, in the second round.

   Elon came on strong in the final round, posting an 8-under 276 to earn runnerup honors with a 7-under 845 total. The Phoenix had opened with a 5-over 289 before adding a 4-under 280 in the second round of the opening-day double round.

   Sun Belt Conference power Georgia Southern and Radford, out of the Big South, finished a shot behind Elon in a tie for third place, each recording a 6-under 846 total.

   The Eagles, who lost to Louisiana in the Sun Belt’s match-play final and played in the NCAA Salem Regional last spring, surged into contention with a 10-under 274 in the second round after struggling to a 7-over 291 in the opening round. Georgia Southern then closed with a 3-under 281.

   The Highlanders started fast, opening with an 11-under 273, but struggled in the afternoon round of the opening-day double round with a 9-over 293. Radford then finished up with a 4-under 280.

   Reigning Southland Conference champion Augusta finished three shots behind Georgia Southern and Radford in fifth place with a 3-under 849 total. The Jaguars, who teed it up in the Auburn Regional last spring, carded a pair of 2-under 282s in the opening-day double round before closing with a 1-over 285.

   Big East representative Xavier finished a shot behind Augusta in sixth place in the 16-team field with a 2-under 850 total. After opening with a 4-over 288, the Musketeers ripped off a 9-under 275 in the second round before finishing up with a 3-over 287.

   Nicholas, winner of the Patterson Cup, one of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s major championships in the summer of 2022, backed up Taylor as he finished in the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-under 210 total.

   Nicholas opened with a 1-over 72 before going low with his second-round 67. He then matched par in the final round with a 71.

   Maxfield and Griffin Mitchell, a senior from New Albany, Ohio, both landed in the group tied for 30^th place at 1-over 214.

   Maxfield opened with a 1-over 72 before unfurling his spectacular 65 in the second round. He struggled to a throw-out 77 in the final round. Mitchell was solid, matching par in both ends of the opening-day double round with a pair of 71s before closing with a solid 1-over 72.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was graduate student Liam Hart, winner of the PIAA Class AAA title in 2017 as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, as he finished in the group tied for 39^th place with a 3-over 216 total. After opening with a 4-over 75, Hart matched par in the second round with a 71 before contributing a crucial 1-under 70 in the final round.

   East Tennessee State sent Remi Chartier, a graduate student from Canada, to Sapphire Valley to compete as an individual and Chartier rolled to the individual title by five shots with a 14-under 199 total.

   Chartier sandwiched a 2-under 69 in the second round with a pair of 6-under 65s to earn his second career individual victory. His other win came in the Southland Conference Championship in the spring of 2022.

   Xavier’s Carson Bellish, a sophomore from Pickerington, Ohio, took a two-shot lead over Chartier into the final round after he added a sizzling 7-under 64, matching the low individual round of the tournament, in the second round to his opening round of 3-under 68. Bellish fell back a little with a 1-over 72 in the final round, but still earned rurnnerup honors with a 9-under 204 total.

  Georgia Southern’s Luke Koenig, a sophomore from Statham, Ga., Elon’s Juan Callejo Ropero, a junior from Spain, and Clemson’s Calahan Keever, a senior from Greenville, S.C. who competed as an individual, shared third place, each landing on 6-under 207.

   Koenig matched par in the first and final rounds with a pair of 71s around a sparkling 6-under 65 in the second round. Callejo Ropero matched the best individual round of the tournament with his closing 7-under 64 to make a big move up the leaderboard. Callejo Ropero had matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 1-over 72 in the second round.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Keever tallied a 4-under 67 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 69.

   Among the seven players who joined Drexel’s Taylor in the group tied for sixth place at 5-under were a pair of players from Queens University of Charlotte, Ed Davis, a freshman from England, and Drake Wilcox, a senior from Sheboygan, Wis.

   Davis matched par in the second round with a 71 after opening with a 3-under 68 and then finished up with a 2-under 69. Wilcox carded a sparkling 6-under 65 in the second round after opening with a 2-over 73 before closing with a 1-under 70.

   High Point redshirt senior Gregor Meyer, who finished in fifth place in the 2018 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Fox Chapel, registered a pair of 3-under 68s in the opening-day double round before closing with a 1-over 72 to join the group at 5-under.

   Rounding out the large group at 5-under were Elon’s Jack Wieler, a freshman from Waxhaw, N.C., Wofford’s Matthew Larkin, a senior from Atlanta, Ga., Radford’s Nick Talliaferro, a graduate student from Richmond, Va. and Appalachian State’s Addison Beam, a senior from Cherryville, N.C.

   Wieler added a 2-under 69 to his opening-round 68 before matching par in the final round with a 71. After opening with a 74, Larkin tallied a solid 5-under 66 before closing with a 3-under 68.

   Talliaferro closed with a 6-under 65 to move into the top 10 in the individual standings. Talliaferro had added a 1-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 73. Beam was in the thick of the race for the individual title after opening with a 6-under 65 and adding a 2-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round. He backed off with a final round of 3-over 74.