Primed And Ready
Concordia tied for the low score of the day and finished third at the SJU Fall Invite in the final tournament before the MIAC Championship Meet.
STORY LINE: Led by Blake Kahlbaugh's tournament-best 69, Concordia jumped up four places on the second day of St. John's Fall Invite and placed third in the final tournament before the MIAC Championship Meet. Kahlbaugh's sub-70 helped the Cobbers post a team score of 296 which tied for the low team total of the day. Concordia finished with a final team score of 602 (306-296) which was one shot ahead of fourth-place St. Thomas and nine behind runner-up Gustavus.
TEAM TOTAL TALK: Concordia's team total of 296 on Sunday was their second lowest round of the season. The Cobbers fired a 293 on Day 1 of the Augsburg Invite at the start of the year. It was also the fourth time in five tournaments this season that Concordia has carded a sub-300 team score. The only meet that CC didn't shoot under 300 was their home event at the Cobber Fall Invite.
BIG BAD BLAKE: Blake Kahlbaugh finished the 2-day meet with a total of 145 (76-69) which was good for a tie for third place. He was one shot off medalist honors. His 69 on Sunday tied a career low. Blake Kahlbaugh also shot 69 last year at the Gustavus Spring Invite. The T3 finish was also Blake's first Top 10 finish of the year. He had a pair of T13 places at the Cobber Fall Invite and Jimmie Fall Classic.
COUNTING ON KAHLBAUGHS: A Kahlbaugh has now led the Cobbers in three of the five meets season. Last week Nathaniel Kahlbaugh paced CC with a third-place finish at the Gustavus Twin Cities Classic. Nathaniel also paced Concordia at the Cobber Fall Invite when he tied for second with teammate Gage Stromme. Nathaniel Kahlbaugh leads the Cobbers in scoring average this season with a 75.5 mark. Blake is fourth at 77.6 but has been playing his best golf as of late. Blake has shot 76 or better in five of his past six rounds.
ROUNDING OUT THE TOP 5: Matt Kulla recovered from a rocky start on Saturday and fired a pair of 76s to finish at 152 and in a tie for 19th place. He was the No.2 CC golfer over the weekend. Gage Stromme was two shots back at 154 (78-76) while individual Nate Longtin was No.4 for Concordia at 155 (77-78) and Nathaniel Kahlbaugh was fifth with a 159 (84-75).
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will head to the 3-day MIAC Championship Meet next weekend. The Cobbers will compete at Ridges at Sand Creek GC in Jordan on Oct. 6-8. CC will be hoping to improve on last year's 6th-place finish.