NORMAL, Ill. – The Gustavus men's golf team opened the spring season at the 38-team Illinois Wesleyan Invite Friday and Saturday, April 4-5, fielding a pair of teams as well as a trio of individuals. 

The Gusties, whose highest team was tied for 17th after day one, saw a number of individuals move up the leaderboard on Saturday, with the "A" team finishing 14th overall. The first team carded a 296 on day two at Weibring Golf Course (par 71), while the "B" team finished 26th with a 300. Individually, Wyatt Carlson (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) finished 14th in the field of 228 athletes. 

For the first Gustie team, Pelayo Perez Crespo (Jr., Sotogrande, Spain) moved up 23 spots on day two for a one-over par 72. Perez Crespo finished 28th, collecting a two-shot birdie and 15 pars. Both Chris Gutuza (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa) and Teddy Kaste (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) moved up 42 spots with a three-over 74 at Weibring. Kaste posted three birdies on day two to share 96th with his teammate Gutuza, who posted 28 pars throughout the weekend, the second-most of any competing athlete at the event.

Jimmy Abdo (Fy., Edina, Minn.) carded a 76 on Saturday to finish 66th, while Blake Forrest (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) rounded out the first team with a 10-over 81 in round two.

Carlson jumped up 21 spots with a five-birdie performance on Saturday to finish 14th with an even 71. He was just three-over par for the weekend, carding a 75-71-146, and was one of just nine athletes of 228 to card an eagle at the invite. 

Jack Reinardy (Sr., Andover, Minn.) carded a 75 on Saturday, followed by teammate Aradheea Gawade (Fy., Mumbai, India) with a 76. Tommy Hiniker (5th, Edina, Minn.) posted a 78 in round two, as did Cameron Longie (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) and Cole Paulson (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.). Caleb McBee (Sr., Glendale, Ariz.) and Tomas Rohrborn (Sr., Santiago, Chile) each posted a round two 81. 

"Our overall performance today was better," said Head Coach Scott Moe '95. "It was cold, but it was dry. I felt our ball striking was pretty solid and consistent, just didn't convert on many birdie chances. In really good fields, you must have two solid days to be highly competitive and that is something we will continue to strive for. We've got a very talented group that will head to Memphis next week in an even deeper field, so a good week of preparation will get us ready to go. Great tournament by Wyatt to finish in top 15 out of 228 players, and Pelayo also had two solid days with a 72 today."

Host IWU finished first and fourth with a pair of teams in competition. Aurora (Ill.) took second, while Saint John's finished third. Individually, UW-Eau Claire's Spencer Lynch carded a six under 70-67-137 for first. 

The Gusties are off for the next week before traveling to Mephis, Tenn. for the Rhodes College Cochran Collegiate at Colonial Country Club on April 15-16. The team will host the annual Bobby Krig Invite at Le Sueur Country Club and New Prague Golf Club the following weekend, April 18-19.