MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (4/25/12) - The Arkansas State men's golf team shot a final-round 313 Wednesday at the Sun Belt Conference Championships, finishing the three-day tournament in 11th place with a combined 930.
The Red Wolves finished the first round in sixth place after posting a 314 on Monday, but dropped to ninth place the following day despite cutting 11 strokes off their opening-day total. The Red Wolves fell two additional places with their final-round score, but finished within four strokes of eighth-place Florida Atlantic.
North Texas claimed the tournament title with an 873, while Middle Tennessee finished second with an 881 and Louisiana-Lafayette third with an 892.
The Red Wolves were led by Christian Helmbold, who finished tied for 29th place with a 231. Sawyer Radler followed Helmbold with a 234 to finish tied for 34th place, and both players carded a team-best 74 during one of the three rounds.
Also competing for A-State, Chris Pledger finished tied for 39th place with a 236 and Chance Holden and Cory Williamson both tied for 42nd place with a 237.
Prior to the start of the tournament, ASU was awarded the Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Award for holding the highest combined GPA in the league.
"I am very proud of the team for winning the conference GPA award for the third time in six years," said ASU head coach Steve Johnson. "I feel for the seniors. They've put in a lot of hard work leading up to this week, but it just wasn't meant to be. But that's golf and we'll lick our wounds, regroup and be ready to make a run at it next season."
ARKANSAS STATE RESULTS
Place, Name (RD 1-RD 2-RD 3--TOTAL)
11, Arkansas State (314-303-313--930)
T29, Christian Helmbold (74-77-80--231)
T34, Sawyer Radler (85-74-75--234)
T39, Chris Pledger (80-75-81--236)
T42, Chance Holden (81-79-77--237)
T42, Cory Williamson (79-77-81--237)
