SHERIDAN, Wyo. – The No. 19-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo men's golf team battled and grinded its way to a seventh-place finish Tuesday as the ThunderWolves closed out the Travis Roy Memorial at Powder Horn Golf Club.
CSU Pueblo carded an 11-over-par 299 in Tuesday's final round to finish the 54-hole tournament at 40-over-par 904.
The seventh-place finish capped an impressive two-day climb for the Pack, which found itself in 12th place following Sunday's opening round. CSU Pueblo jumped four spots into eighth after Monday's second round before gaining another position Tuesday to finish seventh in the 12-team field.
Parker Shaw led the way for the ThunderWolves in the final round, firing a 1-under-par 71 to move up 17 spots and finish tied for 19th at 8-over-par for the tournament.
Shaw made the turn at 2-over after an opening 38 before catching fire on the back nine. He played his final nine holes in 3-under-par 33 to post the Pack's best round of the day. Shaw finished the tournament with rounds of 79, 74 and 71.
Jake Johnston joined Shaw in a tie for 19th after closing the tournament with a 2-over-par 74. Johnston played his opening nine at even-par 36 before shooting a 38 coming home. He completed the three-day event at 8-over-par following rounds of 76, 74 and 74.
Paraic McGrath gave the ThunderWolves their third counting score Tuesday with a 4-over-par 76. McGrath opened with an even-par 36 before carding a 40 on the back nine and finished tied for 29th at 11-over-par for the tournament.
Cole Kratz rounded out CSU Pueblo's four counting scores with a 6-over-par 78. After an opening-nine 43, Kratz battled back with a 1-under-par 35 over his final nine holes. He finished tied for 51st at 18-over-par overall.
Luke Shelton and Jayden Padilla each closed the tournament with 7-over-par 79s.
Shelton shot a 37 on his opening nine before finishing with a 42 and placed 55th at 19-over-par for the tournament. Padilla posted rounds of 38 and 41 Tuesday and finished 71st at 34-over-par overall.
The ThunderWolves' final-round 299 was built from Shaw's 71, Johnston's 74, McGrath's 76 and Kratz's 78.
CSU Pueblo showed plenty of resilience throughout its season-opening tournament. After opening the event with a 24-over-par 312 and sitting at the bottom of the leaderboard, the Pack responded with a 5-over 293 Monday and followed with Tuesday's 299 to climb five positions over the final 36 holes.
The ThunderWolves will return to action next week when they travel to Montrose, Colo., for the San Juan Intercollegiate on Sept. 21-22 at The Bridges Golf Club. The tournament will be hosted by Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Colorado Mesa University.
