ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Griffin Peters (Sr / Fountain Hills, Ariz.) and Charlie Musto (So / Sterling, Va.) put together top-10 finishes to lead the Navy men's golf team to a third-place finish at the 15-team Navy Spring Invitational on Saturday. Carding the third-lowest round of the day at the par-71 Naval Academy Golf Club, the Mids pushed up two spots in the final standings with a 31-over par 599 (301-298).

Lafayette shot the low round of the tournament on Sunday (294, +10) to make the move from second to claim a 3-stroke victory over Binghamton who also came into the day in second. The Leopards paced the field with a 23-over par 591, followed by Binghamton (297-297=594) in second,  Navy in third, Saint Joseph's (293-308=601) in fourth and St. John's (302-304=606) and Methodist (298-308=606) rounded out the top five. Lafayette is the 23rd different team to claim the team title in what was the 39th edition of the tournament (stroke play). Additionally, Binghamton's Ryan Rodriguez won a three-player playoff to take home individual medalist honors. Rodriguez, along with LIU-Brooklyn's Kyle Underwood and Lafayette's Ryan Tall, shot a 3-over par 145 over the two days.

Peters and Musto were just two strokes off the lead, finishing the 36-hole event with a 5-over par 147 to pace the Navy Blue squad. Chad Deegan (Costa Mesa, Calif.) placed 37th with a 155 (76-79), while Matthew Starobin (Sr / Davidsonville, Md.) took 42nd with a 156 (79-77). Team captain Paul Mauer (Sr / Eagleville, Pa.) had a tough opening round, shooting 13-over par 84, but came back to shoot the low round for the blue team on Saturday with a 2-over par 73 to close out the weekend in 47th with a 157 (+15).

Thomas Garbee (Asheville, N.C.) led the way for the Navy Gold squad, who finished seventh among the 15-team field with a 39-over par 607 (307-300). Garbee covered the course with a 4-over par 146 (72-74), just one stroke off the leaders. Michael Brennan (So / Locust Valley, N.Y.), meanwhile, shot the low round of the day by the Mids (either team) with a 1-over par 72 to record his first career top 15 finish. Ward Wilkinson (So / Ashland, Va. also pushed up in the final standings after turning in a 2-over par 73 in the final round. He placed 33rd with a 154, followed by Ryan Hicks (So / St. Petersburg, Fla.) in 54th with a 159 and Nicholas Klock (Fr / Moraga, Calif.) in 80th with a 166.

There were also three Mids who competed as individuals - Jake Miles (So / Fredericksburg, Va.) finished 59th with a 160 (82-78), Connor Jaenke (Jr / Arnold, Md.) shot a 161 (85-77) to place 64th and Ben Burton (Fr / Charleston, S.C.) turned in a 162 (85-77) to complete the tournament in 69th.

The Mids will seek their eighth Patriot League Championship team title when the eight league teams converge upon the Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y. next weekend to compete in the two-day, 54-hole championship. Navy overcame a 2-stroke deficit by posting a 9-over par 297 in the final round en route to capturing the 2018 Patriot League Men's Golf Championship played at the par-72 Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. Two Navy golfers garnered All-Patriot League recognition, including Charlie Musto, who won individual medalist honors as the lone player in the field to finish under par.

### Go Navy ###