WHEELING, W.Va. - WHEELING, W.Va. - Webster University fired a team score of 19-over par 303 to sit in 14th place following the completion of the second round here Wednesday of the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championships held at Oglebay Resort and Conference Center. 

With its 14th place standing after two rounds, the Gorloks will get to play two more rounds of golf this season as Webster is one of 18 teams that qualified for the final two rounds of the tournament that will determine both the NCAA Division III National Championship team and individual. It marks the second time in school history that Webster has made the cut at the NCAA D-III National Championships and the first time since 2017. 

The Gorloks, who are making their fourth consecutive and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championships, played Wednesday's second round on the 6,857-yard, par-71 Speidel Jones Course after playing on the par-70, 6,621 Palmer Course in Tuesday's opening round. 

After shooting a 299 (+19) in the first round, which is the best-ever team score in any round of the NCAA Championships, Wednesday's 303 (+19) is the third lowest round in the NCAA Championships in school history as the second lowest round is 302, which came in the first round of the 2014 championships. Webster made the cut for the final two rounds by three shots as Mary Hardin-Baylor was the 18th and final team to make the cut as the Cru has shot a 605 (+41) for 36 holes. 

Webster is one shot in front of 15th place Piedmont College, who has shot a 39-over par 603 as a team for 36 holes and is one shot behind 13th place Willamette University, who has carded a 37-over 601 for 36 holes. 

Illinois Wesleyan, who are the defending Division III National Champions from 2019, lead the field after two rounds as they shot a 286 on Wednesday on the Palmer Course for an overall score of 12-over 576. Methodist University jumped two spots on the leader board after firing a 281 on Wednesday on the Palmer Course and has carded a 36-hole team score of 581, while Guilford sit third with a 24-over par 588 after firing a second-round team score of 6-over 286 on the Palmer Course. Eleven shots currently separate fifth to 14th in the championships heading into Thursday's third round. 

While the Gorloks made the cut, their strong play on Tuesday was once keyed by senior All-American Will Hocker (Grapevine, Texas/University of Oklahoma) as after shooting a 1-under 69 in the first round to sit tied for first place, Hocker carded a 1-over par 72 on the Speidel Jones Course on Wednesday to fall into a three-way tie for second place on the individual leader board with an even-par 141 for 36 holes. Hocker is tied with Illinois Wesleyan's Jimmy Morton and Nebraska Wesleyan's Alex Kubik. Mortin, who was tied with Hocker for first after the first round, shot a 1-over par 71 on the Palmer Course on Wednesday, while Kubik carded a 3-under par 67 on Wednesday. 

Methodist's Andre Chi sits atop the leader board as he fired a tournament-low round of 5-under par 65 to push his 36-hole total to 4-under par 137. 

Chi, Hocker, Morton and Kubik are the only golfers in the field of 191 golfers that has shot par or better through the first two rounds of the championship. 

In Wednesday's second round, Hocker opened by shooting a 1-under 35 on the front nine as he closed with back-to-back birdies and then opened the back nine with a birdie on the par-4 No. 10 hole en route to carding a 2-over par 37 on the back nine. Hocker finished the round with four birdies, three bogeys, a double bogey and 10 pars. Through two rounds, Hocker has recorded eight birdies, which is tied for fourth most in the event and is second in par-4 scoring as he is averaging 3.95 (-1) on the par-4 holes. 

The NCAA Championships began with 37 teams, but only the top 18 teams following the second round advanced into the final two rounds, which are scheduled for Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14. In addition, the top six golfers who were not on any of the Top 18 advancing teams also made the cut for the final two rounds. 

In addition to Hocker, fifth-year senior Zac Ciesla (Lake Charles, La./Alfred M. Barbe), who is playing in his fourth NCAA Tournament as a Gorlok, sits tied for 37th place after two rounds with a 9-over par 150 for 36 holes after carding a 78 in the second round. Ciesla shot a 2-over par 72 in Tuesday's opening round. On Wednesday, Ciesla shot a 2-over par 38 on the front nine and then shot a 5-over par 40 on the back and recorded two birdies, seven bogeys, a double bogey and eight pars on his second-round scorecard. Through 36 holes, Ciesla is tied for tournament lead in par-5 scoring as he is averaging 4.43 (-1) on the par-5 holes. 

Senior Cole Pickett (Greenville, Ill./Keiser University) shot a second round 6-over 77 to push his 36-hole total to a 14-over par 155. Pickett shots an 8-over 78 in Tuesday's first round. Pickett finished the second round with three birdies, seven bogeys, a double bogey and seven pars and fired a 3-over par 39 on the front nine and shot a 3-over par 38 on the back nine. 

Senior Mitchell Vetter (Colleyville, Texas/Grapevine) rallied from a his 10-over par 80 in the first round by shooting a 5-over par 75 in Wednesday's second round to push his 36 hole total score of a 15-over par 156. Vetter's second round score was the second best for the Gorloks. Vetter opened his second round by shooting a 2-over par 38 on the front nine, before carding a 3-over par 38 on the back nine, including capping the round with a birdie on the 18th hole. Vetter had one birdie, six bogeys and 11 pars on his second-round scorecard. 

Webster's fifth competitor on Wednesday was freshman Justin McCoy (Savoy, Ill./Champaign Central) as the 2021 SLIAC Golfer of the Year and individual medalist at the SLIAC Championships followed up his 11-over par 81 in the first round by shooting a 9-over par 80 in the second round to push his 36 hole total score to a 20-over par 161. McCoy got off to a strong start on Wednesday as he scored pars on the first seven holes and shot a 1-over par 37 on the front nine, but struggled on the back nine as he fired a triple bogey on the 10th hole and would record bogeys on six of his nine holes on the back nine as he fired an 8-over par 43. 

The Gorloks will be paired with Willamette and Piedmont College in Thursday's third round as those three teams will tee off from the No. 10 tee on the Palmer Course in threesomes beginning at 8:20 a.m. ET.