Belmont Abbey junior Adam Hedges and sophomore Arnor Finnbjornsson led the Crusaders with scores of even par 72, which is tied for second, to lead the Abbey golf team to a second place effort by one stroke behind Barton after the first round of the CenturyLink Invitational, which is being staged in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

The Crusaders posted a 291 as they trail Barton by one stroke. Hedges and Finnbjornsson are tied for second with rounds of 72 as four of the Abbey's five players are in the top 15.

Matt Foster fired a one over 73 to sit in a tie for sixth, and Matthew Reid is tied for 13th with a round of 74. Freshman Cameron Mitro is in a tie for 32nd with a 79.

The Abbey enters tomorrow's final round trailing by one and leading third place Cape Fear Community College and Mount Olive College by nine strokes.