Results

Hershey, PA - The Messiah Falcons claimed their second straight Commonwealth Conference title as the shot a 313 on Sunday afternoon. Combined with their 311 from Saturday afternoon the Falcons finished with a team total of 624, 23 strokes ahead of second-place Stevenson.

Jordan Kirsch (74-78--152) led the Falcons finishing in second-place just two strokes behind the low medalist, Stevenson's Al El Kordi-Hubbard (74-76--150).

Satchel Johnsen fired an 80 on Sunday for a tournament total of 159. Johnsen's two-day score of 17-over was the lowest among rookies in the Commonwealth and as a result he was named the Rookie of the Year for the Commonwealth Conference. Johnsen joins Matt Burkhart '13 as the only Falcons to be named Commonwealth Rookie of the Year in Messiah history.

The Falcons had all five of their golfers competing this weekend earn All-Conference honors. Kirsch (second), Justin Sisson (fourth), and Austin Galaska (tied fifth) earned first team honors, while Johnsen (eighth) and Nate Haney (ninth) earned second team honors. It marks the first time in program history that five golfers earned All-Conference honors in the same season.

Heading into Sunday's round, Jordan Kirsch was tied with Al El Kordi-Hubbard (Stevenson) after both golfers fired rounds of 74 on Saturday to sit atop the leaderboard overnight. On Sunday the pair was playing together again and they went tow-to-toe throughout the round. Kirsh pared six holes on his first nine to go out in a three-over, 38. Kordi-Hubbard on the other hand stumbled to start his round shooting a six-over, 41 through his first nine holes.

On the pair's back nine the role were reversed. Kordi-Hubbard made up two of the three strokes that separated himself and Kirsh at the turn by their 16th hole. With Kirsch leading by one stroke, he preceded to triple-boggy the 383-yard par 4 seventh (his 16th hole of the day) while Kordi-Hubbard pared it to take a two-stroke lead. Both golfers played their final two holes at even par and Kordi-Hubbard took the individual medalist honors by two strokes over Kirsch.

As mentioned Justin Sission (78-77--155) finished in fourth place earning his second career All-Conference honors. Sission went out in 37, picking up two birdies in the process before coming home in 40 to best his score from Saturday by a stroke.

Austin Galaska began his round by paring six of his first seven holes. A boggy on his fifth hole was nullified with a birdie on his eighth. Galaska stumbled slightly down the stretch with five bogeys and a double on his final 10 holes, but a strong front nine of 36 propelled him to a round of seven-over, 78.

Satchel Johnsen and Nate Haney both shot rounds of 80 on Saturday afternoon. Johnsen went out in 41 before coming in with a 39, Haney on the other hand went out in 39 before finishing his round with a second nine of 41. For the tournament, Haney (81-80--161) finished two shots behind Johnsen (79-80--159), but both teammates earned All-Commonwealth honors.

After earning the Commonwealth Conference title the Falcons' season will continue. They will compete in the NCAA Division III Championship at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C. on May 12-15.

Stay tuned to GoMessiah.com for updates as the Falcons prepare for their third appearence in the NCAA Division III Championships.

Day One
Messiah College shot a 311 on day one of the Commonwealth Championships, good enough for first place by 10 strokes. Stevenson University collected a 321 to keep close, while Lebanon Valley sits back at 327.

Messiah's solid start was helped by a 74 (37-37) by Jordan Kirsch, and a 78 (39-39) by Justin Sisson. Satchel Johnsen bolstered the Falcons' start with a 79 (39-40).

Al El Kordi-Hubbard of Stevenson matched Kirsch with a 74 (37-37) and those two are tied atop the leaderboard.

Austin Galaska (39-41--80) and Nate Haney (38-43--81) rounded out Messiah's five players.

Kirsch collected two birdies and 11 pars in his round of three-over to sit him atop the leader board. Justin Sisson is currently tied for third with Chris Van Natta (Alvernia) just four shots behind Kirsch and Kordi-Hubbard.

Sission birdied consecutive holes to end his front nine in a three-over, 39. He matched his front nine, 39 with a 39 on the back. He collected six pars against two bogies and a double.

Satchel Johnsen shot only his second competitive round in the 70s carding a 79, but it was a great time to shot one of his lowest rounds of the year. Johnsen fired eight straight pars in the middle of the round before birding his final hole to break 80.

While Austin Galaska did not collect any birdies on the afternoon, he did collected 11 pars en route to a round of nine-over 80. Last year's golfer of the year in the Commonwealth is tied for ninth heading into day two.

Nate Haney shot exceptionally well on the front nine, collecting two birdies and three pars for a two-over, 38. He struggled at the begging of the back nine, but recovered nicely with two pars to finish out his round with an 81. Haney's 81 ties him for twleth place through the first day.

The Falcons will tee off tomorrow morning between 9:20 a.m. and 9:52 am.