KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the first round of the 2019 NSIC Men's Golf Championship complete, Winona State University sits in the pole position with a seven-stroke lead. Ben Jasper and Brady Madsen (+1) are leading the Warriors and tied for second-place individually after round one.

On a windy day at Shoal Creek Golf Club, Winona State posted a team score of 293 (+9) on Thursday. Bemidji State finished the first round in second place with a score of 300 (+16). Minnesota Mankato and Concordia, St. Paul are tied for third with scores of 304 (+20).

WSU totaled 51 pars on in the opening round to lead the pack and was the top-scoring team on par-3 and par-4 holes. The Warriors' 11 team birdies were second-most in the round.

Jasper's round of 72 (+1) was highlighted by his play on par-4 holes where the senior tied for the best score of any golfer in the 50-player field. Madsen, who also carded a 72, recorded five birdies which tied for the lead among all players. Tyler Beeck is in sixth place individually on the player leaderboard after shooting a 74 (+3) and leading all players with 13 pars.

Senior Michael Schmitz is also in the hunt for individual medalist honors with a first-round score of 75 (+4). Schmitz rounded out the team scoring on Monday while Bentley Glass carded a round of 81 (+10).

Players return to the course on Friday morning with a 9 a.m. tee time scheduled. The final round is set for a shotgun start on Saturday morning.