Scott Sears, pictured in action during Sunday's round at the Alliance Country Club, shot 76 and 75 en route to his best career finish – a tie for fourth-place. (photo courtesy of John Carroll University)

Behind a score of 301 on Monday, The College of Wooster men's golf team distinguished itself at the Ohio Athletic Conference Fall Invitational, as the Fighting Scots of the North Coast Athletic Conference finished in third-place at the two-day, nine-team event, hosted by the University of Mount Union at the Alliance Country Club in Alliance, Ohio.

Wooster was the outlier, in terms of conference affiliation with the other eight teams competing all OAC schools, and even without No. 1 player (Marcus Carano, who is studying abroad), the Scots nearly won the event. A challenging first day (320) put them behind, but a charge throughout the second 18 holes pushed them to within 10 strokes of first-place Otterbein University (611).

Out of the 62 individual competitors, Wooster placed two among the top-five finishers in the form of senior Jay Selby and sophomore Scott Sears. Selby covered the first 18 in 73 and with a 77 on Sunday, he finished alone in third-place (150), while Sears put together his best collegiate performance, turning in a team-low 76, followed by a 75 to tie for fourth (151).

Also for the Scots, sophomore Michael Bay and freshman Brenden Tully provided a boost the second 18 holes via a 76 and 77, and they tied for 22nd (158) and 32nd (162), respectively.

Wooster is off from competition this week, then returns to the Alliance area for another event, the Mount Union Fall Invitational at Tannenhauf Golf Club, on Sept. 27-28.