MacMillan second, Villanova tied for fourth at Wildcat Invitational

   Villanova’s Andrew MacMillan, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz., got an opportunity to compete as an individual as James Wilkes’ club played host to the Wildcat Invitational this week at White Manor Country Club.

   And MacMillan made the most of his chance, carding rounds of 70 and 75 over the 7,055-yard, par-71 White Manor layout to finish second in the individual standings at 3-over 145. He finished two shots back of the individual champion, Binghamton’s Kyle Wambold, a junior who starred at Emmaus High. Wambold followed up his opening round of 2-under 69 – the only sub-70 round of the two-day event – with a 74 in cold and windy conditions Tuesday for a 1-over 143 total.

   Of course, the bad news about MacMillan competing as an individual is that his scores didn’t count for Villanova’s team effort. But the Wildcats still pulled out a solid tie for fourth in the 21-team field.

   Cleveland State’s second-round 291 was easily the best total in the difficult conditions and, combined with an opening-round 302, gave the Vikings a 25-over 593 total. Lehigh (303-296) was six shots back in second at  599 and Wagner (289-311) grabbed third at 600.

   Villanova added a second-round 302 to its opening-round 299 to get a share of fourth at 601. The Wildcats were joined at that figure by Binghamton (299-302) and La Salle (298-303). Delaware (298-304) was another shot back, alone in seventh place at 602.

   MacMillan’s performance is evidence of the kind of depth Villanova possesses this spring.

   Lucas Trim (74-76), a junior from Tampa, Fla., and Andy Butler (75-75), a sophomore from Oakmont, were in the group tied for 19^th at 150 for the Wildcats. Rounding out the group counting toward  Villanova’s team score, Luke Waggoner (78-73), a sophomore from Crystal Lake, Ill., finished tied for 25^th at 151, Will Byrne (72-81), a sophomore from McLean, Va., finished tied for 52^nd at 153 and Zach Egermayer (78-78), a sophomore from Glen Rock, N.Y., finished tied for 72^nd at 156.

   Villanova’s Peter Richards, a freshman from Westport, Conn., also competed as an individual and had a solid showing with a pair 77s that left him tied for 58^th at 154.

   In the individual chase, MacMillan’s 145 total enabled him to finish just ahead of the seven-man logjam that shared third place at 4-over 146.

   That group included: Colgate’s Chris Wilson (74-72), a junior from Toronto, and Ryan Allison (72-74), a junior from Melbourne, Fla.; St. John’s Seung Yub Baek (73-73), a freshman from Arcadia, Calif.; Cleveland State’s Blake Prince (72-74), a sophomore from East Liverpool, Ohio; La Salle’s P.J. Acierno (71-75), a junior who was a Catholic League standout at La Salle High; Wagner’s Anton Frandelius (73-73), a junior from Sweden; and Delaware’s Jack Gianniny (70-76), a sophomore from Pittsford, N.Y.