OMAHA, Neb. –  The Drake men's golf team wrapped up its time just over the western state border as it completed play at the Bluejay Invitational on Tuesday afternoon and earned a sixth-place team finish with a total score of 869 (293-283-293) over three rounds of competition.
 
North Dakota State won the team title at 847, which was good for 17-under par. Host institution Creighton and St. Thomas (MN) tied for runners-up at 11-under, 853.

"I thought we did a lot of good things this past week," Drake head coach Matt Lewis said. "This was a new tournament and a new course we knew little about. The guys did a great job learning and applying as much as we could during the practice round."
 
Senior Nate Spear was the top finisher on the individual leaderboard for the Bulldogs after carding a final score of 3-under, 213. Spears performance earned him a top-10 result as he tied for 10th with rounds of 68-74-71.
 
Next on the leaderboard for Drake was Sam Johnson, who tied for 27th at 218 (74-65-79). Johnson's second round 65 was the lowest score posted by any individual in the field and marked a new career-low for the Bettendorf, Iowa native.
 
Jake Weissenburger finished just inside the top-40, tying for 39th posting a total score of 222. After opening rounds of 76 and 77, the junior ended his tournament on a high note with a 3-under, 69.

"Nate had a great tournament playing solid all three rounds," Lewis said. "Jake was off the first day with his play. I know he was really disappointed, but I challenged him to step up the final round and he did. Sam had the round of the tournament in round two. He started with a double and then played the next 17 holes nine under par to shoot a 65."
 
Freshman Sammy Bonaobra and junior Dylan Drogemuller were the final two Bulldogs to compete in the event and tied for 44th (75-72-76=223) and tied for 51st (76-72-77=225), respectively.
 
Creighton's Grant Feldman was the top individual with a final score of 9-under, 207. He bested Northern Colorado's Cooper Tate by one shot to win medalist honors.

"Overall, we were a little disappointed with our final round," Lewis said. "We put ourselves in a position to win or finish in the top two and we just didn't get it done. We had two great rounds, but didn't produce a great team score. We are excited to host this upcoming week with our home tournament."
 
The Bulldogs will be back in action next week as they host the Zach Johnson Invitational from Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, Sep. 22-23.