MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg has produced some very successful sports teams the past few years.  Our men's soccer and basketball teams reached the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tournament championship games at the end of the 2010 and 2011 seasons.  Our women's basketball team won a school-record 14 straight games a year ago and the men's tennis team earned its first NCAA tournament berth last spring.  One team, however, has stood above the rest. 

Penn State Harrisburg's men's golf team is the two-time defending NEAC champion and has taken part in the NCAA's Division III championship tournament each of the past two seasons.  The Lions are off to another fantastic start this fall and a third-straight conference title and NCAA tourney berth looks like a real possibility.

The Lions started the year with an impressive third place team finish at Messiah's Falcon Classic.  Reigning NEAC Player of the Year Matt Plummer (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) finished the day with an individual finish of second overall.  Junior newcomer Jason Long (Rockhill Furnace, Pa. / Southern Huntingdon County) logged his first great finish of the year with a seventh-place showing.

The Blue and White's top two players made more waves by racking up NEAC Student-Athlete of the Week honors on three separate occasions.  Plummer earned the award in back-to-back weeks in mid-September while Long won the accolade in early October. 

Penn State Harrisburg's best finish of the fall season came in the team's second outing at the Franklin & Marshall Invitational on Sep. 17, where the Lions finished tied for second out of 16 schools.  Long and Plummer were stout again as the teammates tied for sixth overall, just three shots back of the individual champion.

As great as Plummer and Long have been in the early going, it was the team's depth that helped the Lions consistently finish as highly as they did.  Sophomore C.J. Foust (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra), junior Chris Murphy (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) and freshman Matt Rowe (Lebanon, Pa. / Elco) were solid every time they took to the links while senior C.J. Geis (Harrisburg, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) and freshman Tyler Gentzler (Milroy, Pa. / Mifflin County) performed admirably when called upon.

This fall, Penn State Harrisburg continued the trend of excellence the program set the past few years and the Blue and White will look to keep its momentum rolling when the season starts up again in the spring.  The Lions host the NEAC championship tournament at their home course of Dauphin Highlands in April of 2013. 

Be sure to check back as we unveil the runner-up entry on Penn State Harrisburg's list of the top ten moments of the fall sports season.  This one's all about "Dangles" big week.