NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. -- Christopher Newport senior Alex Price fired one of the finest rounds in program history to take over the individual lead and help power the fifth-ranked Captains men's golf team to the top of the team leaderboard on day two of the NCAA Division III Championship Preview event in Kentucky. The Captains finished with a six-over 294 to sail into sole possession of the lead by one stroke while Price signed for a five-under 67 while building a seven-stroke advantage for the medalist position. 

As a team, the Captains are 17-over par after the first 36 holes of the three-round event and lead Washington and Lee by one stroke headed into the final day. CNU finished the first two rounds with a 593 (299-294) and tied for the second lowest single round score of the tournament so far. 

Highlighting the impressive second day was Price, who sank a pair of Eagles with one of the most dominant rounds in program history. Starting on hole number seven, Price opened up his trek with a four-under start through the first nine holes and punctuated the strong start with an Eagle 3 on the 483-yard Par 5 15th hole. After a small slide back to two-under over the next six holes, he rallied with a late flourish to finish at five-under par for the day. In his last three holes, Price sank another Eagle 3 on the 511-yard Par 5 fifth and picked up his fourth birdie on the Par 4 sixth to close things out. 

Just one stroke higher than his personal best score, he matched his record in relation to par for a round with the five-under card. The score ranks tied for the fifth best round relative to par in program history and becomes just the second player ever with multiple rounds at -5 or better (David Rabil -6 and -7 in 2016). 

With one of only two sub-70 rounds on the day, Price surged to the top of the leaderboard and is now seven strokes ahead of second place Henry Scavone (Carnegie Mellon) at one-over through the first two rounds. Price is at six-under with a 138 (71-67) with back-to-back rounds under par. 

While the senior leader took center stage, the rest of the Captains' lineup was also impressive on Monday. Sophomore Jackson Gessaman ripped through the course on a mission through the bulk of the round, sitting at three-under after his first 14 holes. A late stumble saw him finish at one-over with a 73, but he surged all the way into the top-25 on the individual leaderboard and sits tied for 21st after day two. 

Rookie Austin Smith continued his strong tournament and is tied for 14th at six-over par. Senior Robb Kinder rallied on day two and finished with a three-over 75 to climb into a tie for 31st. Kinder put in three birdies and 11 pars on day two and sits at 10-over par for the tournament. Finally, Owen Cook dropped in with an 83 and added another birdie for the Captains. 

CNU ranks tied for second in the event with 27 total birdies while leading the tournament in Par 4 scoring with a 4.30 average. Price leads the charge in that category, scoring a -2 (3.90) on Par 4's while also leading the event on the Par 5's with a -7 (4.13). 

The third and final round of the championship preview event, hosted on the same course that the 2023 NCAA Championship will be played, will be played on Tuesday morning. CNU tees off at 9:00 a.m. with Washington & Lee and Methodist University. Live scoring is available here.