Johnson Places 7th at Conference Championships

Johnson Places 7th at Conference Championships
Posted: Oct 13, 2013

Entering Sunday with a 12-stroke lead, Husson University posted a 311 in the second round of the 2013 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championships at Samoset Resort, narrowly edging hard charging Salem State University for the Eagles' eighth conference championship in as many years. Husson posted a 36-hole total of 608, giving the Eagles five strokes on the Vikings at 613.

Salem State's Cameron Daley shot 73 on Sunday for a two-round total of 145 to capture the individualist medal honors in the field of 35. He led his team to a Sunday low-round of 304. Husson's Lance Bernier finished second with a 149, followed by Maine Maritime'sKeenan Kalthoff and Castleton's Zac Temple with scores of 153. Temple earned NAC Rookie of the Year honors. Taylor Dunn from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Husson's Bill Hutchinsrounded out the top five with 154 strokes each. Dunn improved by eight strokes on Sunday.

The Vikings led Husson on the scoreboard until the last group of golfers came back to the clubhouse. Playing in the fifth position on Sunday, the Eagles' Greg Martinplayed the role of savior for Husson, finding the final hole on his 71ststroke of the day. Martin, who finished seventh overall, entered Sunday with an 84 on his card in 22ndplace. When the dust settled, he stood seventh after shooting 22 pars, two birdies and an eagle on the weekend.

Salem State placed four golfers in the top 10. In addition to the medalist, Daley, Craig Farley and Tom Grant tied for eighth with two round totals of 156. Teammate Kevin Dyerwas a stroke and place behind.

Paced by Kalthoff's Sunday 73, host Maine Maritime Academy finished third overall. The Mariners were 30 strokes behind Salem State, and edged fourth place Castleton by three strokes. Maine-Farmington was 10-strokes behind the Spartans at 656, followed by MCLA and Johnson State, in sixth and seventh places, respectively.

Maine Maritime churned out consistent scoring down the lineup from Kalthoff. Dan Mackenzie  shaved a shot from Saturday to finish with a 159, in a four-way tie for 11th. Mariners occupied 19ththrough 22ndplaces with Kevin Pepin shooting 165, Nathan Roop shooting 166 and Thomas Beal shooting 169.

Castleton placed three golfers in the field's top 20. Temple led the Spartans charge. Daniel Hogan carded 159 to tie for 11th, while Justin Del Bianco posted a 165 for 19thplace overall. Jack Ralbovsky rounded out Castleton's scoring four with a 169, earning 22ndplace.

Playing the final round of his career, Maine-Farmington's David Berthiaume carded a career-low 78 to finish in the four-way logjam at 11thon the leaderboard. Farmington finished fifth overall with three golfers in the top 20. Simon Rollins was 17thwith a 36-hole score of 162. Joe Messerman came in at 164 for 18thplace.

Johnson's Josh Reed led the Badgers by placing 26th after shooting an 87 on Saturday and then an 83 Sunday for a total of 170 for the two days.

Husson, by virtue of its championship, earns the NAC automatic qualifier, and will represent the conference in the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championships.

Full tournament results here.

2013 NAC Team Champion: Husson University
2013 NAC Runners-Up: Salem State University
2013 NAC Individual Champion: Cameron Daley, Salem State University
2013 NAC Rookie of the Year: Zac Temple, Castleton State University
2013 All-NAC First Team: Cameron Daley (Salem State), Lance Bernier (Husson), Keenan Kalthoff (Maine Maritime), Zac Temple (Castleton), Taylor Dunn (MCLA), Bill Hutchins (Husson).
2013 All-NAC Second Team: Greg Pike (Husson), Dan Mackenzie (Maine Maritime), Dan Hogan (Castleton), David Berthiaume (Maine-Farmington), Kevin Dyer (Salem State), Tom Grant (Salem State), Craig Farley (Salem State), Greg Martin (Husson).