Canyons Takes Third in SoCal, Will Play at State Finals For Sixth Straight Season

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — College of the Canyons will tee off in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship tournament for a sixth straight season after finishing third at the Southern California Championships held at El Camino Country Club on Monday.

The Cougars carded a five-man team score of 765 (392/373) over 36 holes of play to finish behind second place Cypress College at 758 (380/378) and event champion Riverside City College at 750 (380/370). Ventura College came in at 774 (389/385) to claim the final qualifying spot for the state championship tournament.

Representing the northern region at the state finals will be Reedley College, Chabot College, Folsom Lake College and Modesto Junior College.

It was a tale of two rounds for COC, with four of the team's six players shooting identical rounds of 79 over the first 18 holes before combining to shave 16 strokes off those totals in the second round. 

Ben Campbell (79/72) and Ricky Hoefert (79/72) shot identical rounds to tie for a team-best score of 151.

Travis Fay (80/74) had his first round scratched but still ended up with the second lowest total on the day for COC at 154.

Jaeyeol Kim (79/76) and Alexander Laendin (76/79) both ended at 155.

Daniel Taplin (79/80) ended his day at 159, but had has second round scratched.

Canyons has now made 22 trips to the state finals dating back to the 1988 season, having claimed seven state titles along the way (1993, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015).

The 2017 CCCAA State Championships will begin at 7 a.m. Monday, May 15, at Cypress Ridge Golf Course in Arroyo Grande.