KANSASVILLE, Wis. ­— A total of 44 teams competed at Brighton Dale Golf Course in the first round of the Midwest Region Fall Classic on Friday, and the Knox men's golf team ended the day in a tie for 18th with a combined score of 16-over par (304). Lake Forest (289, +1) sits atop the leaderboard with 18 holes still to come on Saturday.

First-year Diego Carrillo enjoyed a fine opening round, carding a 1-over 73 thanks in part to a team-high four birdies and nine pars to his credit, tying him with 17 others in 26th place. Two Prairie Fire golfers tied for 77th at 4-over par (76) in junior Pranav Nandakumar and sophomore Nathaniel Zug. Nandakumar was quite consistent with 14 pars, but three straight birdies on the seventh through ninth holes dropped him back in the pack. Zug got to the same place with three birdies and nine pars.

• Rounding out the Knox contingency were first-year Thomas Lyaudet at 7-over (79, tied for 136th) and junior Gabriel Newman at 11-over (83, tied for 193rd).
• Junior Colbin Clark also competed as an individual for the Prairie Fire, matching Lyaudet's score at 7-over par.

The top half of the 44 teams  — including Knox — will tee off at 8 a.m. to begin the second round, while the other half will start at 1 p.m.