DUNCAN, Okla. (October 6, 2026) – The defending Hrncir team and individual champion UT Permian Basin men's golf team gave it a ride, but in the end could not defend its titles as this time around the Falcons finished in third place as a team and had two players finish in the top-five individually at Territory Golf Club in Duncan, Oklahoma.

UTPB took on top programs from the Lone Star Conference this week at The Hrnciar, with DBU, Midwestern State, St. Mary's, and host Cameron all receiving votes in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek top 25.

UTPB (286-276-290; 852; -12) was once again in contention, this time tying for fourth place following round one before moving up to take second place after round two and finishing in third place out of 15 teams in the end. Pittsburg State (282-276-287; 845; -19) led the whole way and won the tournament by six strokes. Midwestern State (284-282-285; 851; -13) surpassed the Falcons by one stroke with a three-under-par during the final round to take second place. Each of the second through third-place finishers were within two strokes of each other as St. Mary's (286-280-287; 853; -11) finished just one stroke behind the Falcons in fourth place.

UTPB tied with Pittsburg State for the lowest round of the tournament (-12) during round two and trailed the Gorillas by four strokes entering the final round. Each Falcon in their top-5 shot even-par or better during round two to fuel the team's surge up the leaderboard.

UTPB Head Golf Coach Paul Chavez said, "Obviously our goal is to get the victory, but we did beat some quality teams in our region, which means we will get some valuable ranking points that will be needed as we progress throughout the season. I am very proud of our performance, and to finish in the top-three is definitely a major accomplishment."

UTPB was coming off a team and individual title (Dian Wilmot) at the Shootout at PGA Riviera Maya last week. In addition, Wilmot was once again fighting for the lead throughout The Hrnciar.

Despite not shooting the Falcons' lowest score in any round of the tournament, Wilmot (70-68-71; 209; -7) was tied for ninth place after round one and was then tied for second place after round two (2 strokes off the lead) after shooting a four-under-par (68) for the second tournament in a row. In the end, Wilmot tied for third place among 80 participants.

Just one stroke behind Wilmot was Ioan Rowe (69-70-71; 210; -6), who went from shooting UTPB's best score of the opening round (-3) and tying for fifth place after round one to tying for fourth place after round two to finishing back in a tie for fifth-place in the end.

"Dian and Ioan have certainly been our team leaders thus far," added Coach Chavez. "They are both great ball strikers, and it was another great performance from both of them this week."

Laurent Beech (74-67-75; 216; E) and Benson Diehm (73-73-70; 216; E) both finished at even-par for the tournament and were a part of a seven-player tie for 18th place. Beech took and huge leap and improved his score from round one to round two by seven strokes, shooting UTPB's best round of the tournament (-5) and moving from a tie for 47th place to a tie for 13th after round two. Diehm was not playing on UTPB's top-five, but made his mark with the team's best score during round three (-2). Diehm moved up 26 spots over the course of the final round after tying for 44th following round two.

Lastly, Nizar Bourehim (78-71-73; 222; +6) and Gilbert Lujan (73-72-77; 222; +6) both finished as part of a seven-player tied for 52nd. Bourehim moved up 10 spots during round three while Lujan was unable to capitalize on shooting even-par during round two and finishing a combined one-over after the first two rounds.

As a team, UTPB was tied for third in the tournament in par-3 scoring (3.10; +6), was tied for second in par-4 scoring (4.01; +1), was tied for fourth in par-5 scoring (4.87; -8), was second in eagles (2), was tied for seventh in birdies (48), was tied for third in pars (173), and had the fourth-fewest bogeys (43).

From the players' standpoint, Beech was tied for seventh in par-3 scoring (3.00; E), Wilmot was tied for second in par-4 scoring (3.80; -6), Rowe was tied for second in par-5 scoring (4.58; -5), and Diehm was tied for second in pars (40).

"I feel we are definitely where we need to be this time of year," concluded Coach Chavez. "Our guys have really bought into starting the season off strong and gaining momentum early in the season. Hopefully we can continue to carry that momentum throughout the rest of the Fall and Spring seasons."

The team is back in action in just one week (Oct. 12-13), but will get to stay close to home as the Falcons compete in the Tall City Collegiate hosted by the University of Wyoming at the Midland Country Club in Midland, Texas.