NEWTON, Kan. – Northeastern State is in the middle of the field following its first round at the MIAA Championship, tied for fifth place, carding a 314 Thursday.

The RiverHawks are even with Rogers State, with 11 strokes being the difference between the top-seven teams. 

Nina Lee and Kaylee Petersen led NSU on the course with 77s and are tied for 11th place overall.   Petersen had three of the RiverHawks' six birdies on the day. 

Marybeth Bellnap is tied for 22nd, shooting a 79; Yasmin Hang scored an 81 and is tied for 33rd.  Aitana Hernandez had an 82, tied for 37th place. 

Northeastern State leads the 11-team field with 56 pars, five more than the next school.  Par-5s were the day's struggle for NSU, where they had the third-highest scoring average. 

Nebraska-Kearney left the course as the clubhouse leaders by three strokes over Central Missouri with a 304 score. 

Northeastern State will be paired with Rogers State and Central Oklahoma Friday for the second round at 8:30 a.m.