LONGVIEW, Texas - (March 11, 2026) - The Buena Vista men's golf team was out on the course for the first time this spring as it traveled south to the state of Texas to take part in the 54-hole Pinecrest Invitational hosted by LeTourneau University from March 8-10. BVU was aided by a second round 291 and finished eighth overall with a 900.

Freshman Ashton Richey helped lead the way for the Beavers by tying for third-place overall with back-to-back rounds of 2-under 68 to close out the tournament. He was one of three individuals to post a score of 212 for the tournament and was only one shot back of second. His rounds of 68 were one stroke off of senior Matthew Turpen's season-low round of 67 back in the fall which was the program's lowest by any player in over 32 years.

Richey opened with a round of 76 on Sunday. During his final round, Richey bogeyed the par-3 11th hole and then finished with birdies on five of the final seven holes. His second 18 holes featured three birdies and just one bogey. Richey finished the event with nine birdies overall. Turpen had four rounds in the 70's, including a second round 71, and tied for 20th overall at 223. Gabe Kramer and Kaleb Sander both tied for 39th at 233 while Reid Haney (248) and Mason Laven (250) rounded out the line-up.

Buena Vista began the tournament with an opening round score of 309 on Sunday that had them in ninth overall after 18 holes. The team had its best round on Monday afternoon as it carded a 291 which marked the fifth-lowest round of the day among the 13 teams. The Beavers then closed things out on Tuesday with a solid round of 300.

A total of 83 golfers took part in the 54-hole event which was won by Cal Lutheran (853) after three straight rounds in the 280's. LeTourneau was runner-up at 875.

BVU will now have just over two weeks off before it dives into the bulk of its spring schedule on March 27-28 at the Graceland University Invite. The 36-hole event will be played at Mozingo Golf Course in Maryville, Mo.