Dalton State improved in the team standings on Tuesday at the NAIA National Championship Preview firing a (+9, 297) to finish fourth, but it was the individuals who would shine as senior Katie Dalton took home individual medalist honors narrowly edging teammate Isabel Rijos and Aleesha Smith of William Carey (Miss.) for the title.
#2 SCAD-Savannah (Ga.), (+16, 592), would take home the team title followed by Texas Wesleyan, (+22, 598), in second. Third would be #20 South Carolina-Beaufort at (+26, 602).
#3 Dalton State and #8 Loyola (La.) would round out the top-5 in a tie for fourth at (+30, 606).
Senior All-American Katie Dalton fired the lowest tournament round of the day, a (-2, 70), to jump up six spots and finish at (E) overall for the tournament. All-American Isabel Rijos carded a (+1, 73) to finish at (E) and tied for first with Dalton and Aleesha Smith of William Carey. The three would head to a playoff to decide a winner. On the second playoff hole, Dalton would sink a birdie putt to clinch individual medalist honors.
Hannah Gasaway would record the third best Lady Roadrunner score of the day, a (+4, 76), to finish tied for 39th with Dalton State freshman Cameron Daniel and two other golfers. Daniel would card a final round (+6, 78) to close out her day. Junior Haejin Choe would match Daniel with a (+6, 78) to finish tied for 46th.
Freshman Katelyn Skiffen notched a top-20 finish with a closing round (+5, 77) to finish in 19th playing as an individual. Fellow freshman Sutton Rollins would get a solid finish in 64th after a round of (+10, 82).
Dalton State will once again compete in an ultra competitive tournament when they host the nation's best at Nob North Golf Club in Varnell on October 22 & 23 in the Roadrunner Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will shotgun start each day at 9:00 a.m. and admission is free to the public. Everyone is welcome to come out and cheer on your Lady Roadrunners and see the best NAIA teams in the country battle it out. The field consist of 10 top-25 teams, including 7 of the top-10 and numbers 1-5 in the nation.