Penn College golfers flying high

Among the best of the best. That’s where the United East Conference-championship Penn College men’s golf team will find itself over the next several days as five Wildcats tee it up with 220 others from the nearly 4,800 student-athletes who competed on more than 40 teams at the NCAA Division III level this season.

The D-III Championship will be held Tuesday-Friday at Mission Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. After the first 36 holes of play, the field will be cut to the top 18 teams and the top six individuals not on those teams.

Penn College is one of 34 conference champions awarded automatic qualification. When coach Rob Lytle talks about his squad earning its fourth straight trip to nationals, he acknowledges that the road is getting tougher after his team won the UE by 15 strokes in 2023, nine strokes in 2024 and 21 strokes last season.

“We knew we needed a great start on the first day,” Lytle said of this spring’s opening round in the UE Championship on April 24, when his team took a four-shot lead over Penn State Harrisburg.

Midway through the second round, when Harrisburg edged ahead, Lytle admitted, “There were some anxious moments. But once the (rainy) weather hit, and it got pretty bad, we held our own, and the guys played some really good holes down the stretch.”

Good enough to claim another crown with a four-stroke margin of victory.

When his players arrive in Florida on Saturday, their focus will be where it needs to be: dedication and preparation to do their best.

Mission Resort has two par-72 courses, the 7,015-yard El Campeon and the 7,230-yard Las Colinas. The weather forecast calls for sun each day with temperatures in the low 90s Saturday and Sunday, mid-80s Monday and Tuesday, and upper 80s to low 90s Wednesday through Friday.

“That area is in a drought, and both courses should be pretty firm and fast. The courses are uniquely different. There is some elevation, and they’re Bermuda (grass), which we don’t get to play on a lot. The challenge is the grain on the greens, and the ball tends to sit down a little bit in Bermuda rough,” Lytle explained.

The team will practice putting and the short game at an off-site location late Saturday afternoon to get used to the grass. It will have practice rounds at the tournament site on Sunday and Monday, alternating courses, before competition begins on Tuesday.

Consistency has been a trademark of Wildcat teams, and it doesn’t happen by chance.

“We’ve got training nets. We’ve got technology, launch monitors. We set it up. We play a practice round. We go back to the range. We go back to the putting green and spend another two hours there working on our games. This is what our new routine is. We spend time, and we’re going to continue to work to get better,” Lytle said. “We’re willing to put in the work, even if it’s after a practice round.”

Case in point, the improvement this season of senior Gunner Redmond, of Lock Haven.

As a freshman, Redmond’s scoring average was 83.1. It improved to 82.7 as a sophomore and 80.1 last year. This season, it has dropped to 74.6 over 23 rounds.

“He put in a lot of work. He really focused on his game, spent some time with a teacher, and he continues to put in hard work,” Lytle said. “He dedicated the winter and spring to working hard. He wanted to win the conference; he wanted to be that person who went to nationals four years in a row and won the conference four years in a row. He led the charge.”

Redmond also played his last three seasons with now-graduated Peyton Mussina, one of the best golfers in program history, who closed out his senior season a year ago with a 72.2 scoring average.

“The whole team this year, even the guys who haven’t gone to tournaments, have really put in the extra range work, the extra work to be better. Peyton’s work ethic has really bled into everybody’s work ethic, and the amount of work you need to put in to prepare and to play well,” Lytle said.

Also representing the college will be freshman Chase Dillman, of Boyertown, whose scoring average this spring is 76.3; junior Brady Handy, of Huntingdon, averaging 78.2; junior Logan Gawlinski, of Kittanning, averaging 80.1; and junior Brett Keenan, of Plymouth Meeting, averaging 82.4.

Since the conference tournament ended on April 25, playing and practicing have been the norm in order to keep their games sharp.

In previous trips to nationals, Wildcat teams have finished 37th in 2023, 29th in 2024, and 41st in 2025. Individually, Redmond tied for 189th in 2023 after rounds of 79-83—162, and he tied for 205th in 2024 with rounds of 81-87—168. Last season, Handy tied for 192nd with rounds of 83-83—166, Gawlinski tied for 216th with rounds of 79-96—175, and Redmond tied for 218th with rounds of 84-92—176.

In recent D-III championships, where Methodist University is the two-time defending champ and owns 15 titles, team cuts have varied. In 2023, Penn College’s low four scorers totaled 630, and the cut was 588. In 2024, Penn College scored 609, and the cut was 583. Last year, Penn College scored 654, and the cut was 611.

During the spring season, which included 10 rounds in five competitions, Penn College is averaging 308 strokes per round, an average of 77 per player.

“The goal is to make the cut as a team, and perhaps one or two players to make the individual cut, and that is a possibility. It’s an honor to represent the college and conference at nationals, and especially to do it for four years in a row, but the guys want to compete. The team cut is the ultimate goal,” Lytle said.

What will it take to accomplish that?

“It’s going to be career playing, all five guys playing well, to make the team cut. The competition in Division III golf right now is just so good. It’s going to take everybody’s best effort and everybody’s best play,” Lytle said.

For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website . For more about the United East, visit the conference website . For more about NCAA Division III golf, visit the NCAA site.