• Championship Central

Details: The Mountain East Conference men's and women's golf championships will be held next week, Monday-Wednesday, at The Resort at Glade Springs. The top six teams (and three individuals not on a qualifying team) after 36 holes will advance to the final round. Teams not making the cut will compete in the Woodhaven Shootout at Glade Springs.

The winners of the MEC Championship will receive an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament in the spring.  

All Eyes: For the first time in league history, the Mountain East Conference will stream portions of the men's and women's golf championship next week. Check Championship Central for broadcast windows, and watch on MountainEast.tv.

Men's Golf Notables:
Defending The Crown: The University of Charleston will be looking for a third-straight championship title next week. UC finished ahead of West Liberty by six shots last year to take home the title. The Golden Eagles edged the Hilltoppers by three shots in the previous year. 

Top Of The Charts: West Liberty has finished second on three different occasions and third in two others. 

Up For Grabs: In the individual competition, there is no returning champion this year as last year's medalist Eoin Cunniffe (UC) graduated. Concord's Brett Laxton tied for medalist honors during his freshman year two seasons ago (but lost in a playoff). Fairmont State's Marco Oliverio has had a strong start to his fall, along with last year's MEC Freshman of thet Year Alex Easthom from West Liberty. Another Hilltopper, Sean Trapp, performed well at the championship last year finishing just one shot back in the medalist race. Urbana sophomore Luc Toupin was fourth last year at the championship and is back for his sophomore season. 

Sneak Peak: Several MEC teams competed at the Glade Springs Intercollegiate Invitational earlier this fall. UC finished ahead of other MEC schools at the tournament with a 905, while Davis & Elkins was next among MEC schools with a 914. The Senators will be competing in their first MEC Championship next week. Fairmont State was third among MEC schools with a total of 921.

Individually, CU's Brett Laxton and Fairmont State's Marco Oliverio tied for the best individual performance at the tournament. Charleston's David Scragg was just a shot back. 

Women's Golf Notables
Defending The Crown (Team): UC will be looking for its third MEC championship in four years next week. After winning its first title back in 2016 by a whopping 31 shots, the Golden Eagles took the title last year by 10 strokes over Notre Dame. 

Defending the Crown (Individual): Notre Dame's Macie Hysell is the defending champion. Her first round of 72 last year matched the lowest score at the MEC Championship (along with Wheeling's Kasey Frazier back in 2014). Hysell was the MEC Player of the Year last year.  

Hysell is the third player to win medalist honors. Kasey Frazier (Wheeling) and Natalia Jornet (Concord) each won back-to-back titles.

Top Of The Charts: Notre Dame's women's golf team has finished first or second in each of the six years of the championship. The Falcons won titles in 2014 and 2017. 

Back Again: The Glenville State women's golf team is back at the championship for the first time since 2016 after the program was reinstated last spring. The Pioneers have performed well so far this fall with two players, Kendall Walla and Sophie Canale, earned All-Tournament honors last week at Ohio Valley. 

Sneak Peak: Like the men's teams, several women's teams from the MEC competed on the same course as next week's championship earlier this fall at the Glade Springs Intercollegiate Invitational. Charleston finished just ahead of Notre Dame among MEC programs. 

Individually, Macie Hysell (NDC) finished in a tie for third. Wheeling's Bailey Frederick and Charleston's Sarah Feizal were just a shot back, though.