Senior Chad Ring was one of three Hawks to shoot even-par 72 on Wednesday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship. The top-ranked Hawks lead the team standings with an 8-over 584. (Photo by Wesley Lyle)

Posted: May 17, 2017

Lambeth, Hawks continue to lead after Rd. 2 of NCAA Tournament

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The top-ranked Huntingdon Hawks shaved two strokes off their first-round total and maintained their first-place position on Wednesday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship.

The Hawks shot 3-over-par 291 in the second round on the Las Colinas course at Mission Inn Resort & Club. Entering the third round on Thursday, Huntingdon has a four-stroke lead with an 8-over 584.

Eleventh-ranked Wittenberg is second at 12-over 588 and 19th-ranked Guilford is third at 17-over 593.

"We feel good heading into the final two rounds," Huntingdon senior Addison Lambeth said. "We have room to improve but we are still leading, which is keeping our spirits high. We have worked for this all year and we are looking forward to this opportunity."

Lambeth, along with sophomore Stephen Shephard and senior Chad Ring, was one of three Hawks to shoot even-par 72 on Wednesday. With a two-round total of 3-under 141, Lambeth leads the field by two strokes. Guilford's Josh Hill and Wittenberg's Cameron Willis are tied for second at 1-under 143.

Shephard is three strokes off the lead and tied for fourth with an even-par 144. With the 72 in the second round, Ring climbed from 53rd and is tied for 13th with a 4-over 148 after 36 holes.

"Chad had an amazing comeback today," Huntingdon Director of Golf Dave Schreyer said. "He is fighting a very sore shoulder and I wasn't sure he was going to be able to play today. But he was determined to shoot a good score.

"I was very pleased with the 291 today. We faced a very breezy day but the boys were fighting until the end. We are in good position, we just need to finish strong."

Rounding out the Hawks' second round scores, junior Jon Colten Stanaland shot 3-over 75 and is tied for 37th with a 7-over 151. Senior Will Thrash shot 77 on Wednesday and is five strokes behind Stanaland at 156.

Following Wednesday's round, the 42-team field was cut to 18 teams for the final two rounds. All four USA South Athletic Conference teams in the tournament made the cut. In addition to Huntingdon, 10th-ranked Greensboro is fourth at 597, fifth-ranked Methodist and sixth-ranked LaGrange are tied for eighth at 605.

To follow the tournament during the final two rounds, click here.