A day after a Jekyll-and-Hyde act, Bismarck State College's Lance Olson posted a less interesting - but better - score in the second round of the NJCAA golf tournament.

Olson, who carded five birdies while shooting 8-over par on Tuesday, shot a 77 on the second day Wednesday, putting him in a tie for 50th place among the106 golfers competing in Chautaqua, N.Y. Olson's two-day score of 177 has him 13 strokes off the lead, but only seven from reaching the top 10, which makes up the All-American team.

Davis Brent of Montgomery College, Chris French from Rock Valley College, Theo Frentzos of Central Lakes College and Louisburg College's Adam Holmes are all even par through two rounds and are tied for the lead with 144 strokes.

Olson's teammate Charlie Ruppert also cut three strokes off of his opening day score, shooting a 79 for an overall score of 161. That's good for a tie in 69th place.

BSC's Brian Tschider is one stroke off Olson's pace, and sits tied for 58th place after shooting an 81 on Wednesday.

"Brian's disappointed," BSC coach Denis Limke said. "He got off to a bad start today, and never quite recovered."

Tschider started his round on hole No. 10, and shot a 41 on the back nine. His front nine score would have been better were it not for the triple-bogey he produced on the par 4 No. 7.

Tschider said that on the first day - when he shot a 77 - he had an easier time fixing his mistakes.

"My misses weren't as severe (on Tuesday) as they were today," Tschider said. "I struggled today. But I know this course well enough, and I'm set on what clubs to hit when."

After improving their scores from the first day, Olson and Ruppert decided to return to the course for an extra hour of practice after dinner on Wednesday night, while Tschider opted to return to the hotel.

"I told Brian that's fine - sometimes it's better to get away for a little while," Limke said. "These guys all basically know what they're doing - it's just a shot here or there that's going to make the difference."

According to Limke, Olson - who had liked his shots on the first day, but not his score - may have played at around the same level as his first round.

"I don't think Lance necessarily shot better," Limke said. "He just scored better."

On Friday, golfers will be re-grouped according to score, with the worst two-day scores taking the earliest times on the tee. Olson and Tschider will both tee off at 11:00 a.m., with Olson on the 10th tee and Tschider on the first. Ruppert will start eight minutes later at the No. 10.

Limke talked to his golfers about making a move towards the leaderboard.

"They're upbeat and ready to liven up tomorrow morning," Limke said. "It might just take one good shot or one good hole for them - sometimes that can really stir you to a good round."