ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (Apr. 20, 2021) – The No. 18 Truett McConnell University men's golf team finished runner-up of 12 teams at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Spring Championship at Barnsley Gardens Resort on Monday-Tuesday with a total score of 905. The Bears earned the AAC's second berth to the NAIA National Championships with the runner-up finish. This will be TMU's second national berth in program history. In addition to TMU's NAIA national top 25 ranking of No. 18, the Bears rank 15th in Golfstat's rankings after starting off the season in 48th.
 
No. 1 Point University won the championship, along with the AAC regular season title, with an 877. The Bears defeated No. 25 Reinhardt University by two strokes (907, 3rd place), while No. 20 Tennessee Wesleyan University took fourth with a 910.
 
"The men gave incredible effort this semester to move up to #18," Head Coach Steve Patton said. "This AAC Championship was a great way to cap off the spring season. We are looking forward to taking the next step in our progression and compete at the national championship in a few weeks."
 
Sophomore Nate Thornton earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after individually tying for fourth of 62 golfers. Thornton led the Bears with a 76, 71 and 74 to finish five over. Fellow sophomore Michael Osborne followed in 12th with an 80, 73 and 74 (227). Four strokes behind was junior Jhett Lewis who placed 14th and improved inch by inch each round with a 78, 77 and 76.
 
Also finishing in the top 20 was sophomore Vic Mincey who tied for 15th (78, 76, 78). Luke Peavy rounded out TMU's results tying for 21st with a 77, 82 and 75 (234).

See link above for complete list of results.
 
The NAIA National Championships will take place Tuesday, May 18 – Friday, May 21 in Silvis, Illinois.