Bears get first top-five finish of the fall in Manhattan

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Northern Colorado men's golf team finished up its stay at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate with a final round 298 (+10) on Tuesday.

The Bears' fifth place finish was the team's highest of the fall and its final round score was tied for the second-lowest on the day.

Northern Colorado finished the tournament with a three-round combined score of 910 (+46).

In what has become a pattern, the Bears were led by freshmen Steven Kupcho. The Colorado native finished in a tie for 14th after putting together a three-round score of 227 (+11). After shooting a pair of 5-over par 77s in the opening day, Kupcho finished strong with a 1-over par 73 in the final round.

Sophomore Ben Krueger bounced back nicely from an opening-round 8-over par 80 to finish his tournament in a tie for 16th. After his rough first round, Krueger shot a 3-over par 75 and a 2-over par 74 to finish with a combined score of 229 (+13).

Kevin Collignon, a junior, also found himself in a tie for 16th after three rounds at Colbert Hills Golf Course. His final round was the highlight of his tournament. After shooting a 7-over par 79 in the first round and a 6-over par 78 in the second, Collignon put together an even-par 72 in the final round to catapult himself up the leaderboard.

Another young player, freshman Charlie Mroz, finished in a tie for 22nd after shooting a three-round score of 232 (+16), while sophomore Jake Hutton shot a 234 (+18) to finish in a tie for 24th.

Idaho came away with the team title after putting together a combined score of 874 (+10). Boise State (+22), Kansas State (+30) and Creighton (+35) all finished alongside Northern Colorado in the top-five.

Individually, Boise State's Taeksoo Kim took home medalist honors after shooting a three-round score of 210 (-6). Creighton's Kevin Stanek (+0) and Idaho's Justin Kadin (+0), Jarred Bossio (+2) and Stefan Richardson (+3) rounded out the top-five.

The Bears will hope to take the momentum that comes with a top-five finish into their final tournament of the fall. The team has almost three weeks off before heading to Las Cruces, N.M. to compete in the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate beginning on Monday, Oct. 24.