ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- Midwestern State couldn't have gotten off to a worse start Monday in the opening round of the West/South Central NCAA Division II Super Region Championship at Foxtail Golf Club.

The Mustangs were 15-over as a team through the first nine holes before recovering to even over the last nine. The start was enough to send MSU 18th place in the championship field of 20 teams.

"We weren't good off the tee and we weren't good on the greens," MSU coach Jeff Ray said. "For a team with so many aspirations and that had been playing so well, I just can't explain it. We will just have to try to have a better day tomorrow."

The top five teams and two individuals not on those teams advance to the NCAA Division II Championships set for May 22-26 at Avalon Golf and Country Club in Warren, Ohio.

The Mustangs head into the second of three rounds a full 12 strokes out of fifth place.

Colorado Christian leads the away after firing a 7-under total of 281. The Cougars are trailed by Western New Mexico and Stanislaus State with a 1-over 289, Simon Fraser (B.C.) with a 2-over 290, and fifth-place Oklahoma Christian with a 3-over 291.

Freshman Seth Bearden led the Mustangs with his 12th par-or-better score of the season, firing four birdies, including three on the Back Nine, to close the first 18 holes with an even-par 72 to tie for 14th.

Senior Mason Mikeska logged four birdies on his way to a 4-over 76 to tie for 60th, while senior Garrett Leek is tied for 74th with a 5-over 76. Leek logged consecutive birdies on the 16th and 17th holes and is now seven birdies shy of 500 career birdies. The Brock native shot an even-par on his final 10 holes.

Senior Jake Leatherwood went 5-over through the first nine holes, then was 1-over over his final nine hole to finish the day tied for 90th with a 6-over 78.

Junior Keaton Dickens is tied for 106th with a 10-over 82 in the opening round.

Colorado Christian's Peyton Jones, who fired seven birdies and a bogey, tops the individual leaderboard with a 6-under 66 and takes a two-stroke lead into the second round ahead of Stanislaus State's Nathan Jetton and Sonoma State's Griffin Pace.

Pace (68/-4) and West Texas A&M's Daniel Unger (70/-2) are the top two individuals not on a team projected to advance to nationals.

Midwestern State tees off between 10:20 and 11 a.m. on Tuesday for the second round of the West/South Central NCAA Division II Region Championship.< br="">
 

NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional

Team Leaderboard

Pos	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Colorado Christian	-7	281	---	---	281
2	Western New Mexico	+1	289	---	---	289
	Stanislaus State (Calif.)	+1	289	---	---	289
	Simon Fraser (B.C.)	+1	289	---	---	289
5	Oklahoma Christian	+3	291	---	---	291
6	West Texas A&M	+6	294	---	---	294
	Sonoma State (Calif.)	+6	294	---	---	294
8	Colorado State-Pueblo	+7	295	---	---	295
	California State-Monterey Bay	+7	295	---	---	295
	Western Washington	+7	295	---	---	295
11	Colorado Mesa	+8	296	---	---	296
12	UC Colorado Springs	+9	297	---	---	297
13	Holy Names (Calif.)	+10	298	---	---	298
14	Chico State (Calif.)	+11	299	---	---	299
15	UT Permian Basin	+13	301	---	---	301
	California State-San Marcos	+13	301	---	---	301
17	Cameron (Okla.)	+14	302	---	---	302
18	Midwestern State	+15	303	---	---	303
19	California State-San Bernardino	+17	305	---	---	305
20	Hawaii-Hilo	+25	313	---	---	313

  

Individual Leaderboard

Pos	Player	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Peyton Jones	Colorado Christian	-6	66	--	--	66
2	Nathan Jetton	Stanislaus State	-4	68	--	--	68
	Griffin Pace	Sonoma State	-4	68	--	--	68
4	Joey Geary	Western New Mexico	-2	70	--	--	70
	Daniel Unger	West Texas A&M	-2	70	--	--	70
6	Jordan Lee	Western Washington	-1	71	--	--	71
	Adam Duncan	Colorado Christian	-1	71	--	--	71
	Simon Bjorken	California State-Monterey Bay	-1	71	--	--	71
	Edvin Backstrom	Holy Names	-1	71	--	--	71
	Xavier Bighaus	Colorado Christian	-1	71	--	--	71
	Jordan Bean	Simon Fraser	-1	71	--	--	71
	Seth King	Western Washington	-1	71	--	--	71
	Jason McElroy	California State-San Marcos	-1	71	--	--	71

  

Midwestern State Scorecard

18	Midwestern State	+15	303	---	---	303
Place	Player	To Par	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
T14	Seth Bearden (4)	E	72	--	--	72
T60	Mason Mikeska (2)	+4	76	--	--	76
T74	Garrett Leek (1)	+5	77	--	--	77
T90	Jake Leatherwood (3)	+6	78	--	--	78
T106	Keaton Dickens (5)	+10	82	--	--	82