By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University will host the Northwest Conference Fall Classic in men's golf this weekend at the Emerald Valley Golf Club and Resort in Creswell, Oregon. The tournament is set for Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9, with action starting at 10 a.m. (PDT). each day.

The NWC Fall Classic is one of three tournaments used by the NWC to determine the overall champion. The NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic are each worth one-fourth of the title, while the NWC Tournament is worth one-half.

All nine Northwest Conference teams are scheduled to compete. Whitworth University took first place at the 2015 NWC Fall Classic on its way to winning the 2015-16 NWC title, while Willamette took second place at the Fall Classic and also finished second in the overall standings. Peter Mitzel (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) of Willamette took fourth place at last year's Fall Classic.

The Bearcats are off to a solid start to the 2016-17 season. Willamette won the Pacific Invitational on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25 against five of the other eight NWC teams. Willamette's score was 5760 (283-287). Sam Hinton (So., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) of Willamette earned the individual title with a 36-hole score of 3-under-par 139 (69-70). Drew Groshong of Lewis & Clark College (70-70) and Andrew Pusquellec from George Fox University (71-69) tied for second at 140.

Each team may enter up to five golfers in the NWC Fall Classic, with the top four finishers each day counting toward the team score. Competing for Willamettr will be Mitzel, Hinton, Clark Wilson (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS), Trent Jones (So., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS), and Kenneth Sheldon (So., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS).