KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — App State Men's Golf traded the lead during a back-and-forth final hour of the Irish Creek Intercollegiate on Tuesday, but Catawba pulled ahead one last time and won the team title by two strokes over the Mountaineers.
Led individually by
Herman Huus' tie for seventh place at 1 under, App State posted a 6-over team total (288-283-287—858). When
Ben Read (10th place at even par overall) made a par putt on the final hole, the Mountaineers were able to maintain a one-shot lead over third-place Old Dominion and an eight-shot advantage over fourth-place Troy in the 11-team field.
Catawba, ranked No. 9 in Division II, beat all three Sun Belt programs while playing 19 miles from its Salisbury campus in an event hosted by App State.
Huus made a hole-in-one on the 15th hole of his opening round, followed an even-par 71 with a 69 in the second round and capped a final-round 72 with a birdie for a 212 total. Read had the lowest round of the tournament by a Mountaineer, shooting 68 in the second round, and individual competitor
Jack Seward had a 70 on Monday afternoon.
Alex Martin (tie for 15th with a 3-over total of 72-73-71—216) and
Max Cranford (tie for 19th with a 4-over total of 73-73-71—217) had the lowest final-round scores for the Mountaineers. Cranford recorded seven birdies in his last round.
James Gradisek also competed for the Mountaineers and posted a 74 in Round 2. Seward tied for 33rd at 9 over, and individual competitor
Rob Bergevin tied for 36th at 10 over.
Catawba held an eight-shot lead over Troy, with App State tied for third, entering the final round. Individual medalist Ignacio Zapata of North Carolina A&T began the final round in a tie for 10th, five shots off the lead, and a final-round 67 gave him a 1-shot victory with a 5-under total.
App State's 2026 spring season is presented by Hound Ears Club. The Mountaineers close the regular season next week in West Virginia at the Mountaineer Invitational.
