The Hillsdale College golf team battled out of a massive deficit after the first round of the 2026 G-MAC Championships at BelTerra Golf Resort in Florence, Indiana, climbing three spots in the standings over the final 36 holes to place fourth in the conference on Tuesday.

Hillsdale had a brutal opening round that saw them sitting in next-to-last place for much of the day before a flurry of late birdies helped pull them back into seventh. Shaking off that rough start, however, the Chargers played solid golf the rest of the way, shooting a combined 14-over-par for the final 36 holes, second only to eventual top finisher Findlay over those two rounds. That strong play allowed Hillsdale to easily overtake Malone, Cedarville and Ohio Dominican to move into fourth place, and was nearly enough to chase down third place Tiffin as the Dragons finished just three strokes ahead of the Chargers, 889 to 892 in the final standings.

The Chargers' top trio who played all three rounds all finished in the top 20 individually, led by junior Robert Thompson and sophomore Jackson Piacsek, who both finished at eight over top tie for ninth place and each earn another top 10 finish on the season. Both Thompson and Piacsek were great after struggling in the opening round, with Thompson coming back from a first round 78 to shoot 72-71, under par, and finish at 221. Piacsek had a similar showing, going 79-70-72 to finish at 221 as well.

Junior Oliver Marshall also rallied from a tough start for the Chargers, carding a 77-71-75=223 to finish alone in 16th as well for Hillsdale.

The Chargers had three other golfers contribute to the team over the two-day event. Freshman John Cassiday shot a 76-75 in the first two rounds, while senior Maxwel Burns came in as a sub for the final two round and carded a 75-82. Freshman Parker Stalcup played the first and third rounds, shooting 82 and 76, respectively for the Chargers.

Marshall was among the tournament's best players on Par 3s, shooting even-par for the weekend, while Cassiday, Piacsek and Thompson were all in the top 10 of the tournament field on Par 4s.

Hillsdale also finished fourth in the G-MAC Championships in 2025, marking the third straight season the Chargers have finished in the top five. Now, Hillsdale turns its attention to at-large selection for the NCAA DII Central/Midwest Super Regional. The Chargers were one of the 10 teams in the Midwest region to play in the super regional in 2025, and are hoping to return to the field this season. Hillsdale has a good chance for an at-large selection, entering the weekend ranked sixth in the region in the Scoreboard/Clippd rankings, but will have to wait to find out their ultimate fate when the field is selected on Sunday, April 26. 

If the Chargers qualify for the super regional, it will take place beginning May 7 at the Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Michigan.