A day after records fell, the Valparaiso men's golf team kept up the pace to put themselves in contention for the tournament title during day two of the Golfweek Program Challenge. The Crusaders shot a team total of 284, a performance that ties them for third best for an 18-hole round score in program history, one day after they shattered the old school record by an amazing ten shots. With the strong effort put forth on Monday afternoon, they trail leader Jacksonville by only four shots.

Even though there was a slight drop off, coach David Gring was happy with the results.  “It's always challenging to follow up a record performance with another solid round, and I was very pleased with how the guys played today,” said Gring. “We discussed being patient on the course, and I felt the team responded to that real well.”

It was another record day when it came to individual scoring as well. One day after Jared Magoline (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac [Marquette]) broke the 18-hole round record with a 65, Nick Seitz (Xenia, Ohio/Carroll) carded the exact same score to tie with his teammate in the record books. Seitz’s performance also ties Magoline when it comes to the relative to par record at -7.   Seitz currently sits in third place with a 135, one shot off the individual lead, while Magoline fell off his record pace from Sunday, but still carded a very respectable 76, good for a 36 hole total of 141.

Gring said with performances like this, only good things can happen for the Crusaders.  “We have seen more of the depth of our team with Nick shooting 65 today,” said Gring.  “There are numerous guys on our entire team that can post low scores on a given day, and that bodes well for these competitive tournaments.”

Along with Seitz, Peter Webb (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) also has a shot at coming away with the individual victory after he turned in a 71, good for a share of 9th place through two rounds with a 141. Rounding out the Crusader effort was Eric Winters (Elgin, Ill./Saint Edward) with a 73, bringing a total of 143 into the final 18, while Joe Harris (Washington, Iowa/Washington) matched his score from day one with a 75, giving him a two round score of 150.

Overall Coach Gring is very happy with where the Crusaders sit heading into the final 18, and how they have performed all season thus far.  “This is the second consecutive tournament where we are in a good position to win the tournament, on the final day - the opportunity is there for us,” said Gring.  “The guys have played well over the last two days to get us to this spot and we are looking forward to the final round.”

Valpo will look for the overall team victory as they tee off from True Blue Golf Course in Pawley’s Island, S.C. tomorrow morning to wrap up the tournament. Live stats can be found at valpoathletics.com.