Palm Desert, Calif. (March 2, 2023) -- Shooting the best round of this year's Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, the Wyoming Cowboys vaulted to the top of the leaderboard on Thursday in the second round of the tournament being played at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif.  Wyoming shot a combined 279 (-9) round on Thursday and will enter Friday's final round with a two-round total of 569 (-7) to hold a six-stroke lead over second-place Utah, who sits at 575 (-1). 
 
Six Wyoming golfers are in the Top 10 individuals among the 90 golfers competing in the tournament.  Cowboy sophomores Kristof Panke and Jaren Calkins are tied for seventh at 143 (-1) to lead the Pokes.  Senior Kirby Coe-Kirkham and sophomores Patrick Azevedo and Cade McLaughlin are all three tied for 10th at 144 (Even), only one stroke back of Panke and Calkins.  UW senior Tyler Severin, who is playing as an individual, is also tied for 10th at 144 (Even).  Junior Jimmy Dales and sophomore Aidan Mann, like Severin, are playing as individuals.  Dales is tied for 31st at 147 (+3), and Mann is tied for 49th at 151 (+7).
 
Matthew Manganello of Fresno State and Harry Doig of Cal State Fullerton are tied for the individual lead at 138 (-6).
 
Wyoming began the day tied for third with Utah and was one stroke back of second-place Colorado and four strokes behind first-round leader Fresno State.  The Cowboys will enter Friday's final round six strokes up on second-place Utah, seven strokes ahead of third-place Fresno State and nine strokes in front of fourth-place Colorado.  Those four teams will play in the same pairing on Friday.
 
The best individual round of the day for the Pokes was shot by Coe-Kirkham, who fired a 68 (-4) on Thursday to move up 39 spots from 49th to 10th.  He was the biggest mover in the field in the second round.  Panke and Calkins both shot rounds of 69 (-3).  They entered the second round tied for 28th and moved up 21 spots to tie for seventh with one round left to play.    
 
"There are always peaks and valleys in golf," said Joe Jensen, Wyoming Director of Golf.  "We didn't really get off to a hot start today, but we grew into the round.  What I really liked from the guys today was the mood, the attitude and the process didn't really change from start to finish.  It's important to develop some good sustainable habits, and I think we saw that in our team today.
 
"I want the guys to continue to take that same attitude into tomorrow -- go through the same process and play hard.  Hopefully, having had some success today will help us maintain consistency into tomorrow's round.  I give the credit to the players.  They've worked hard and stayed dedicated to our process."
 
Consistency was definitely the theme of the day for the Cowboys.  In addition to Coe-Kirkham's 68 and Panke's and Calkins' 69s, Azevedo and McLaughlin both shot rounds of 73 (+1) and Severin and Dales posted rounds of 70 (-2) and 72 (Even).  That equated to all seven of those Cowboys shooting between 68 (-4) to 73 (+1).   
 
The 16-team field will tee off in the third and final round on Friday morning beginning at 8 a.m., Pacific Time in a shotgun start.
 
The Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate is being hosted by the University of Wyoming at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif.  The Classic Club course measures 7,305 yards and plays to a par of 72.
 
Team Standings From the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate
1.   Wyoming                           290-279=569 (-7)
2.   Utah                                    290-285=575 (-1)
3.   Fresno State                       286-290=576 (Even)
4.   Colorado                             289-289=578 (+2)
5.   Hawaii                                 293-287=580 (+4)
6.   CSU - Fullerton                   302-283=585 (+9)
7.   UC Santa Barbara               294-293=587 (+11)
8.   Tarleton State                      295-293=588 (+12)
9.   UT Arlington                         299-292=591 (+15)
10. Texas State                          295-297=592 (+16)
11. CSU - Northridge                  294-299=593 (+17)
12. Sacramento State                291-311=602 (+26)
13. Utah Tech University            314-293=607 (+31)
14. UC Irvine                              317-297=614 (+38)
      UC Riverside                        301-313=614 (+38)
16. Southern Utah                      313 318=631 (+55)
 
Wyoming Cowboys Individual Standings
T7 Kristof Panke                        74-69=143 (-1)
T7 Jaren Calkins                        74-69=143 (-1)
T10 Patrick Azevedo                  71-73=144 (Even)
T10 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              76-68=144 (Even)
T10 Cade McLaughlin                71-73=144 (Even)
 
Wyoming Cowboys Playing as Individuals
T10 Tyler Severin                       74-70=144 (Even)
T31 Jimmy Dales                       75-72=147 (+3)
T49 Aidan Mann                         72-79=151 (+7)