Dates: September 21-23
Location: Eisenhower Golf Club – USAFA, Colorado
Par/Yardage: Par 72 | 6,510 yards
Participating Teams: Tarleton State, Air Force, Colorado State, CSU Northridge, Denver, Gonzaga, Holy Cross, Incarnate Word, Missouri State, Northern Colorado, San Jose State, SIUE, Southern Utah, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Utah Tech, Weber State, Wofford, Wyoming
Tarleton State Players Competing: Alvaro Huidobro, Juan Ballester, Cristobal Sepulveda, Carson Gallaher, Kellen Young, Ian Bosco (Individual), Drew Ironside (Individual)

USAFA, Colo. – Tarleton State Men's Golf begins its 2024 fall season at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational starting Saturday. 

The Texans, who enter their third year of NCAA Division I after reinstating the program, combined for one individual medalist, one All-WAC selection along with 11 individual top 10 finishes last season. Tarleton State also welcomes back its three letterwinners who finished in the top 10 individually at the 2024 WAC Championship (Cristobal Sepulveda - T-5th, Carson Gallaher - T-5th, Alvaro Huidobro - T-10th).

Tarleton State will be one of 22 teams competing at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, including host school Air Force and two-time defending champion Colorado State. The Rams, who earned a bid to the NCAA Regionals last year, will look for a three-peat at the United States Air Force Academy. 

Four of the last six team champions of the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational are included in the field (Wyoming, UC Davis, Colorado State). The Texans will also get their first look at WAC members Southern Utah and Utah Tech. 

Tarleton State's five-man lineup consists of three returning letterwinners (Huidobro, Sepulveda, Gallaher) and two newcomers (Juan Ballester, Kellen Young). Freshmen Ian Bosco and Drew Ironside will compete in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational as individuals. 

"It's nice to get back on the road to compete again," head coach Chance Cain said. "We have a great group of guys this year and look to keep building this program in the right direction together. The course we are playing this week will give the guys a good test and give them valuable tournament experience out of the gates. If this young group can learn quickly and build off each event, it will be exciting to see what we can accomplish." 

Huidobro brings back veteran experience entering his third season, finishing with three top 10 finishes last year. After coming up with a season-low 5-under-par and finishing tied for second overall at The Big Texan, Huidobro cracked the top 10 once again. The Spainaird finished the season tied for 10th in the 2024 WAC Championship. 

Sepulveda played strong at the end of the 2023-24 season, finishing in the top 10 in his final two tournaments. After tying for eighth at the North Texas Intercollegiate, the Chilean shot an even par in the first round of the 2024 WAC Championship and a 1-under-par 71 in the second round. His performance allowed him to finish tied for fifth overall at the WAC Championship. 

Gallaher competed in all 11 events for the Texans last year after spending his first two seasons at UTSA. The American had strong momentum his last time in Colorado, shooting a 3-under-par 67 and a 2-under-par 68 in the final two rounds of the Ram Masters Invitational to tie for ninth overall. After finishing tied for fifth at the 2024 WAC Championship, Gallaher captured the West Texas Am title this summer with a course record 63 in the final round. 

Newcomers who cracked the lineup for Tarleton State's first tournament of the season includes Ballester and Young. Ballester, a sophomore transfer from Lindenwood, was a member of the All-Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer Team last year. Young, a Midland, Texas, native, finished ranked No. 316 in the nation by Junior Golf Scoreboard. 

Tee Times begin at 7:30 a.m. CT on Saturday and Sunday and 6:30 a.m. CT on Monday. Live scoring will be provided by Scoreboard by Clippd.