Making a bold statement in his debut season, Central College men’s golf freshman Maison Brandt seized a share of the first-round lead at the Carthage (Wis.) Firebird Fall Invitational on Monday.

Brandt posted his fifth birdie of the round to close out a 2-under-par 70 on the Hawks View Golf Course. He’s tied for the top spot with Alex Lilly of Carthage College (Wis.) and Caleb Negley of Aurora University (Ill.). The youthful Central squad stands third in the 17-team tourney at 300. Host Carthage leads at 289 while Aurora, ranked No. 16 in the NCAA Division III, follows at 295. Three teams did not complete the round due to darkness. Central also got a 76 from Kayden Pendergrass while freshmen Carter Yurgae and Bautista Valeiras each shot 77. Crew Klingner had 78 and at-large entrant Blake Wynn shot an 86.

The Dutch were third in a 21-team field in the Carthage tourney on a different course last year. The tournament concludes today with the final round of action starting at 8:30 am.