The marker Eli Zike had to beat was hidden from sight beyond a knoll in the field – well over 150 yards from where he stood.

His disc flew for what seemed like minutes, coasting high above the knoll against the wind before settling just two feet ahead of the previous long-drive mark.

It was the last throw of the longest drive competition during the charity disc golf event Saturday. Zike won, and so did the charity he supported.

Saturday was one of the few clear, sunny days this spring and it gave students an opportunity to enjoy a round of 18-hole disc golf to benefit the Cornerstone Youth Development Fund, a charity for underprivileged children in Africa.

Eight teams completed a round in the cool breeze. The event raised about $150.

“We obviously would’ve loved more teams,” said organizer Tara Clark a Rockford junior. “If it would’ve been a little less windy that would’ve been awesome. But we’ll take it compared to rain or 20 degrees.”

Students, as part of RPL 430: Planning Recreational Programs and Events, hosted the event and teams registered for the round of golf, a longest drive competition and a closest-to-the-pin competition.

“We chose disc golf. We knew there were a lot of people passionate about it at CMU,” said event organizer and Mount Pleasant senior Dylan Tobin. “We were just hoping to get a good student turnout.”

The Cornerstone Youth Development Fund was first put together five years ago by Central Michigan University alumna Kelly Donahue, Tobin said.

Clark said a reason there were less teams than she expected was due to charity donations.

“I just think that it’s hard to get people to get people to pay for something that they can do for free,” she said.

Jason Hedrick and John Noekorski finished first out of the eight teams in round play with an 8-under-par 46. Zike won the longest drive competition and alumnus Conrad Budzynski won the closest-to-the-pin competition. All winners received cash prizes.

Raffle tickets were sold for prizes of headbands, coupons and two Detroit Pistons authentic jerseys.

metro@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Adam Niemi