The Radford women’s golf team began its defense of the conference title on Apr. 19, finishing the first round of the 2026 Big South Championship tied for second place out of nine teams.
This result places Radford in a strong position as they seek to repeat last year’s success. The team’s performance ensures that all five Highlanders finished within the top half of a field consisting of 52 golfers.
Mckenzie Weddle led Radford with a score of one-over-par, which placed her sixth on the individual leaderboard. Weddle started her round with birdies on holes eight and ten and added another birdie on hole eighteen after playing par on most other holes throughout her day. Caroline Gilreath also had a notable start, birdying her opening hole and matching Weddle’s birdie on eighteen; she finished at five-over-par, tying with teammates Grace Addison and Shea Smith for thirteenth place individually. Addison recovered from an early setback to shoot either par or better over eleven of her final twelve holes, while Smith maintained consistent play throughout. Macy Johnson completed the team’s scoring by finishing in twenty-sixth place at seven-over-par.
After one round, Radford recorded a team score of 304 (+16), sharing second position among teams such as Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, Presbyterian, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, and Winthrop. The tournament is being played at Ocean Creek Golf Course—a par-72 layout measuring 6,032 yards.
The Highlanders are scheduled to return to action tomorrow morning for the second round starting around 9:48 a.m., with live results available through their official athletics website.
Looking ahead in the championship tournament format and considering their current standing after day one gives Radford momentum as they aim for another title run.
