ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio – The West Liberty University men's golf team finds itself squarely in contention after the opening round of the Wheeling Fall Invitational at Belmont Hills Country Club.

The Hilltoppers carded a team score of +10 (team total 294) on Thursday, good for a tie for 7th place in the 16-team field. West Liberty is just 10 shots back of the lead heading into Friday's final round.

Individually, Brandon Lawhon and Ethan Cook paced the Black and Gold with identical rounds of 72 (+1) to sit in a tie for 13th overall. Justin Doerr is close behind after firing a 73 (+2), while Adam Gill contributed with a 77 (+6) to round out the Hilltoppers' scoring.

California (Pa.) leads the tournament after posting an even-par team score, with Bluefield State (+4) and the Bluefield State "B" team (+5) rounding out the top three. West Liberty is tied with IUP (+10) and sits just two shots outside the top five.

The 36-hole event concludes Friday, where the Hilltoppers will look to build on their steady opening round and climb the leaderboard.