Reinhardt Captures AAC Direct Qualifier Championship

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. - Reinhardt won the men's team title at the 2026 Appalachian Athletic Conference Direct Qualifier, finishing at 18-over across 54 holes on April 20-21 at Barnsley Inn & Golf in Adairsville, Ga. Milligan placed second at 52-over, followed by Truett McConnell at 58-over and Tennessee Wesleyan at 59-over in the three-round event hosted.

The individual race ended in a three-way tie at 2-over between Reinhardt's Pride Dyer and Griffin Latimer and Milligan's Francisco DeBethencourt. Latimer set an early tone with a 2-under opening round, moving into a share of the top of the leaderboard in Round 1. Dyer then stayed in the hunt with a 4-over second round, matching Latimer's Round 2 score and keeping Reinhardt in position entering the final 18 holes.

The final round settled both championship races. Dyer posted a 3-under Round 3, one of the strongest closing scores in the field, to reach 2-over for the tournament. Latimer followed an opening-round 2-under with an even-par final round to finish alongside him at 2-over, while DeBethencourt closed with a 1-over round after earlier scores of even par and 1-over to complete the three-way tie.

Reinhardt's depth separated it from the rest of the field. The Eagles opened at 4-over, absorbed a 13-over second round, and then answered with a 1-over team score in Round 3 to finish at 18-over, comfortably ahead of Milligan. Milligan made its biggest move in the second round, shooting 5-over as a team, but a 26-over finish left the Buffaloes 34 shots back of the lead.

Several other individual performances shaped the leaderboard. Reinhardt's Zane May finished at 4-over after rounds of 2-over, 3-over, and 1-under, giving the champions another high finish near the top. Johnson's Dean Knight also ended at 4-over and matched Dyer for one of the best final rounds among the listed leaders with a 3-under closing score after opening rounds of 1-over and 6-over.

Behind the top four teams, Columbia International finished fifth at 75-over, Johnson was sixth at 78-over, and Montreat took seventh at 85-over. Columbia followed at 86-over, with SCAD Atlanta at 87-over and Spartanburg Methodist at 88-over to round out the top 10. 

Making the All-Tournament Team were Dyer, Latimer, DeBethencourt, Knight, and May. 

For a complete look at the results, click here.

2026 Team Results
Team - Score (Stroke Total)
1. Reinhardt - +18 (882)
2. Milligan - +52 (916)
3. Truett McConnell - + 58 (922)
4. Tennessee Wesleyan - +59 (923)
5. Columbia International - +75 (939)
6. Johnson - +78 (942)
7. Montreat - +85 (949)
8. Columbia - +86 (950)
9. SCAD Atlanta - +87 (951)
10. Spartanburg Methodist - +88 (952)
11. Bluefield - +100 (964)
12. Pikeville - +101 (965)
13. Bryan - +126 (990)
14. Union Commonwealth - +148 (1,012)