Tailey Rowley celebrates on Thursday at the 2023 College Disc Golf National Championship. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA

Tailey Rowley was playing disc golf near the campus of Brigham Young University when a random player ran up to her and asked her to join the Cougar's disc golf team.

That quick interaction sparked her journey in College Disc Golf, and now she's a National Champion.

PDGA Live Scoring & Coverage of the 2023 CDGNC

Rowley battled until the very end on Thursday and in the end, hoisted the trophy surrounded by her, as she put it, community as the Women's Singles National Champion at the 2023 College Disc Golf National Championship.

Tailey Rowley lines up a shot on Thursday. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA

She was one of two National Champions crowned on Thursday and elsewhere through the record-setting fields at North Cove Leisure & Disc Golf Club in Marion, North Carolina, the race to the top spot in College Disc Golf is heating up.

"It's been awesome," Rowley said. "I was really surprised on how big this is because I had not heard of it before and then there's just the whole community of College Disc Golf. I've had such a fun time every weekend going to tournaments, becoming family with my team."

It came down the wire as Rowley, who entered the round three strokes off the lead, grabbed the lead for good with two holes left in Thursday's singles final. The final 13 holes featured numerous swings and lead changes.

"I peaked at the scores a few times just because I was nervous, " Rowley said. "I tried to keep it out my head."

It worked, and now she's a National Champion.

Missouri's Alexis Kerman birdied 17 and the daunting 18 to jump to a second-place finish. Wisconsin's Ceci Vollbrecht rounded out the podium.

Alexis Kerman finished strong for a second-place finish. Photo: Justin Anderson / PDGA

Earlier in the day, the first College Disc Golf National Champion was crowned when Anderson's Micah Jones grabbed a two-stroke win in the Men's Division III Singles.

There's plenty more titles to be determined over the final two days of action, including the Women's Team field, where Rowley and her partner who approached her on the course, Hannah Hunter, sit in a tie with the defending champion team of Kerman and Renae Beasley out of Missouri. The co-leaders are four strokes clear of the field with two team rounds to go.

Elsewhere on Thursday, there were a few moves in the Men's Division I team standings following the completion of the first singles round, where the individual scores are averaged and factored in to the team standings.

Clemson sits in first place, one stroke ahead of Houghton. Ohio State and Emporia State are tied for third with two rounds of team play left.

Another Division I champion will be crowned on Friday in Men's singles. Oklahoma Christian's Caleb Fennell leads a tight leaderboard at 11-under par, one stroke ahead of Clemson's Shane McCullen and Missouri's Noah Free. Seven players are tied for third just two strokes back of the leader. Action shifts to the Gorge Course, the toughest of the three tracks at North Cove.

National Champions are being crowned, but there's plenty left to settle in North Carolina.