Penn State Mont Alto Golf wins PSUAC Championships and runner up in USCAA
The Penn State Mont Alto Golf Team ended their season strong on October 12th and 13th at the PSUAC and USCAA golf championships at the Penn State Blue Course. The team competed for two different titles in the same tournament.
Despite cold and windy conditions, Mont Alto pulled through to become PSUAC champions. The Lions came in second place in the USCAA championship.
Kevin Reiber has won every tournament he has competed at for Mont Alto this season and the championships were no different. Reiber won in a two-man playoff on the 18th hole to earn him a national championship as well as Athletic All-American status. “I’m really excited,” Reiber said. “It was cold on Monday and windy on Tuesday. It was a tough combination. I was disappointed at the way I played on Tuesday. I felt fortunate to have been in the playoff and won.”
Along with Reiber, Seth Besecker placed 10th overall and was named an Academic All-American. “It feels good that our team won,” Besecker said. “I was surprised when I was named the Academic All-American. It’s a great accomplishment and I’m honored to be recognized for it, the hard work pays off.”
Mont Alto was five shots behind Penn State Wilkes-Barre going into Tuesday’s final round. “I knew our guys would step it up on Tuesday,” said Mont Alto Coach Bill Burke. “We got good scores from Seth (79) and Matt Barr (78) compared to their first round on Monday. Dan Zeiders came in with an 81 to go with Kevin’s 74 to bring home the title. It was very important and helpful that the team kept a positive attitude both days and supported each other.”
“I had a lot of fun and it was great watching all the guys and encouraging them and winning the state championship as a team,” Reiber explained. Mont Alto won its fourth PSUAC championship in its 10th year of competition.
“Our goal was to win the state title on Tuesday,” Burke said. “We were 13 strokes back of Rochester College in the USCAA and knew they would be very hard to catch. They had six players averaging in the 70’s this season. It was a great two days of golf for Mont Alto.”
The team came together and played like a team and won like a team, just like they have done all season. Said Seth Besecker, “I’m really proud of all the guys to play well in the rough weather conditions. Kevin has a lot of experience competing at a high level and showed great leadership and motivation for our team.” Reiber also enjoyed being the one that the team was looking up to. “It was a good feeling having the leader role, and it is an experience that will help with golf as well as life in general,” he said.
USCAA, PSUAC Championships
At Penn State Blue Course, Par 72
| Place | School Name | Score |
| 1. | Rochester College (MI) | 608 |
| 2. | Penn State Mont Alto (PSUAC Champions) | 632 |
| 3. | Penn State Wilkes-Barre | 641 |
| 4. | Penn College | 650 |
| 5. | Newport News (VA) | 653 |
| 6. | Penn State New Kensington | 674 |
| 7. | Penn State Hazelton | 691 |
| 7. | University of Dallas (TX) | 691 |
| 9. | New Hampshire Tech Inst. | 697 |
| 10. | Penn State Lehigh Valley | 715 |
| 11. | Penn State Schuylkill | 745 |
| 12. | Penn State Greater Allegheny | 785 |
Top Individuals
| Place | Name | School | Score |
| 1. | Kevin Reiber (Won in playoff) | Penn State Mont Alto | 73-74=147 |
| 2. | Alex Humphreys | Rochester College (MI) | 74-73=147 |
| 3. | Cory Heier | Rochester College (MI) | 78-74=152 |
| 4. | Adam Strawski | Penn State New Kensington | 74-79=153 |
| 5. | Craig Flint | Penn College | 76-79=155 |
Other Mont Alto Scores:
| Place | Name | Score |
| 12. | Dan Zeiders | 78-81=159 |
| 15. | Matt Barr | 84-78=162 |
| 20. | Seth Besecker | 85-79=164 |
| 31. | Mike Grochalski | 85-85=170 |
| 42. | Zach Witmer | 85-93=178 |