Waynesville, N.C. – Western Carolina redshirt sophomore transfer Tyler Jones countered two bogeys with eight birdies to sit perched atop the individual leader board on Sunday, pacing a pair of Catamounts inside the Top 10 and to a tie for the runner-up spot after 18 of the scheduled 54 holes at the JT Poston Invitational, hosted by WCU at the par-70, 6,720-yard Waynesville Inn & Golf Club.
 
Drexel posted a team score of 7-under par 273 over Sunday's opening 18 holes to carry a two-stroke edge over the host Catamounts and Southern Mississippi, tied for second with matching scores of 5-under par 275. Kennesaw State and Virginia Tech are tied for fourth, four strokes off the pace and two strokes in arrears of the second-place tie after posting matching scores of 3-under par 277.
 
Jones is tied with Caleb Taylor of Drexel for the individual lead through 18 holes as the duo paces the 90-golfer field entering Monday's second round. The matching scores of 64 tie for the third-lowest single rounds in the Poston Invitational over the two years it's been contested in Waynesville. Last year's event saw a pair of 8-under par scores of 62 set the benchmark.
 
Rounding out the Top Five after the first round is Jake Moffitt of Southern Miss, two strokes back at 4-under par 66 in third place. A three-way tie between UTRGV's Rodolphe Cicala,  Hunter Gillard of Kennesaw State, and Xavier's Kyle Smith has each in fourth at 2-under par, 68.
 
Action resumes at 9 a.m. with set tee times off both the front and back nine, with the pairings and order set by scores. Live scoring through Leaderboard King is available online through links at CatamountSports.com. Paired with golfers from Drexel and Southern Miss, WCU's scoring five hits the course beginning at 10:30 a.m. on the front nine. WCU's five individuals open play on the 10th tee beginning at 9 a.m.
 
Opening on the front nine, Jones was even through four holes, carding a birdie and the first of two bogeys on the par-3 second. Between holes No. 5 through No. 17, the Jacksonville, N.C., product was 7-under par with seven birdies and six pars as he sat poised to lead the first round solely. However, a bogey on the par-5, 565-yard 18th left him tied with Drexel's Taylor.
 
Using early consistency, Jace Butcher flirted with the top of the leader board during Sunday's opening round, in the clubhouse in a tie for seventh at 2-under par. Butcher started with eight consecutive pars before back-to-back birdies moved him to 2-under with eight holes to play. The Kennesaw, Ga., native closed with two more birdies to counter a pair of bogeys for the 2-under par round of 68.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five through Sunday's first round is junior Andrew Korytoski in a tie with nine others for 32nd at 1-over par 71, with senior Ivan Ninkovic (+2, 72) tied for 42nd, and redshirt senior Josh Lendach (+3, 73) tied for 49th. Korytoski carded a pair of birdies against three bogeys with 13 pars, while Ninkovic had a much busier first 18 holes. The Pula, Croatia, native countered two double-bogeys and a trio of bogeys with three pars and an eagle on the par-5, 560-yard sixth to finish 2-over par for the day.
 
Lendach had three birdies on Sunday, capping his first round with the third to halt a string of back-to-back bogeys heading into Monday's second round.
 
Western Carolina has five golfers competing unattached, with two making their collegiate debuts at the home event. Freshman Charlie Coe paces the five individuals in a tie for 32nd overall, carding an eagle on the par-4 fifth and a birdie on No. 15 to counter four bogeys. Juniors Michael Bevins and Dalton Payne are tied for 49th with matching scores of 3-over par 73. The two both finished with three birdies against six birdies.
 
Making their collegiate debuts, freshman Connor Williams is tied for 74th with a first-round 5-over par 75, and Hayden Magnussen, who shot 84 (90th). Williams tallied three birdies and Magnussen two in their first career rounds.
 
Play resumes on Monday at 9 a.m. with the third round slated for Tuesday morning, both with set tee times off the front and back nine.
 
T2 – Western Carolina – 275 (-5)
T1 – Tyler Jones – 64 (-6)
T7 – Jace Butcher – 68 (-2)
T32 – Andrew Korytoski – 71 (+1)
T42 – Ivan Ninkovic – 72 (+2)
T49 – Josh Lendach – 73 (+3)
T32 – Charlie Coe (ind.) – 71 (+1)
T49 – Michael Bevins (ind.) – 73 (+3)
T49 – Dalton Payne (ind.) – 73 (+3)
T74 – Connor Williams (ind.) – 75 (+5)
90 – Hayden Magnussen (ind.) – 84 (+14)
 
JT Poston Invitational – Thru 18 Holes
1 – Drexel – 273 (-7)
T2 – Western Carolina – 275 (-5)
T2 – Southern Miss – 275 (-5)
T4 – Kennesaw State – 277 (-3)
T4 – Virginia Tech – 277 (-3)
T6 – UTRGV – 283 (+3)
T6 – Xavier – 283 (+3)
8 – James Madison – 285 (+5)
T9 – Elon – 286 (+6)
T9 – Wofford – 286 (+6)
11 – Lipscomb – 287 (+7)
T12 – Abilene Christian – 289 (+9)
T12 – Jacksonville – 289 (+9)
T12 – Morehead State – 289 (+9)
15 – Francis Marion – 293 (+13)