Freshman Corey Matthey earned a berth in the NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship as the GPAC’s individual medalist.

Corey Matthey, a freshman from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, carded a final round 75 at Tuesday’s Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Spring Qualifier tournament at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Eagle, Neb., to capture the league’s 2016-17 men’s golf individual championship.

Matthey finished with a four-round total of 302 to win the GPAC crown by a three-stroke margin over runner-ups Tom Hogg of Dakota Wesleyan University and Joe Vest of Midland University. The GPAC individual championship earned Matthey a berth in the 2017 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship to be held May 16-19 at TPC Deer Run in Moline, Ill.

Matthey became the second Morningside golfer to the GPAC individual championship, joining Brandon Thompson, who won the league title during the 2011-12 season.

Matthey, who shot a 71 in the GPAC Fall Qualifier at Willow Run Golf Course in Sioux Falls, S.D., carded scores of 79 and 77 in Monday’s second and third rounds at Woodland Hills. He entered the final round in second place, three strokes off the pace of Collin Tedesco of Hastings College, who led after each of the first three rounds. Tedesco faded with a final round 83 and finished in a tie for fifth place with a 307.

Matthey’s individual title helped lead Morningside to a second place finish in the team standings with a total of 1236 strokes to finish nine back of Northwestern College, which won its third consecutive GPAC championship with a 1227. Morningside edged Dakota Wesleyan by four strokes for second place.

The Mustangs’ second place finish equaled their best-ever showing in the GPAC, matching runner-up efforts in 2009-10 and 2012-13.

Aside from Matthey’s victory, the Mustangs also had a top 10 finish from Ferran Cortilla, a junior from Barcelona, Spain, who shot rounds of 71, 87, 72 and 76 for a fourth place total of 306. Cortilla finished just one stroke out of second place.

Morningside’s Cody Holck, a sophomore from Ankeny, Iowa, finished 13th with scores of 76, 80, 81 and 77 for a 314.

Ben Peterson, a sophomore from Saint Anthony, Minn., carded one of the Mustangs’ four counting scores in Tuesday’s final round with a 79.

Results