Canyons Wins CCCAA SoCal Regional Title — Sets Sights on State Championship

The College of the Canyons men's golf team has won the 2016 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) SoCal Regional Championship with a 36-hole team score of 743 at the Bear Creek Golf & Country Club in Murrieta.

Will Barnett led the Cougars with a 2-under-par 142 (69-73) to earn medalist honors and teammate Jason Mcguinness finished second at 145 (73-72) as Canyons stretched a 6-stroke lead in the morning round into a 17-stroke victory over second place Santiago Canyon College (760). 

College of the Desert (765) finished third and Orange Coast (773) finished in fourth place, eight strokes ahead of Palomar (781). 

The top four teams from both the Northern and Southern California regions, and the top six individuals players, all advance to the CCCAA State Championships being held May 16, at Desert Island Golf and Country Club in Rancho Mirage.

Reedley College (753) earned the CCCAA Northern California Regional Championship for the second year in a row. Also advancing to compete at the state championships are second place Santa Rosa (768), third place Monterey Peninsula (772) and fourth place Folsom Lake (783). 

Barnett's 3-under-par score of 69 in the morning round was the only red number posted on the day. 

Four players were able to shoot even par 72's in the morning round, including Ricardo Torres of Canyons, while only two players carded 72's in the afternoon.

Torres (72-81) finished fourth for the Cougars, one stroke behind third place Ben Campbell (74-78). Jaeyeol Kim (75-79) rounded out the COC top-five. Austin Dobrescu (82-78) had his score scratched. 

The Southern California championship is the COC men's golf program's fifth overall, which is the most of any program in the region.

All five regional championships were won under head coach Gary Peterson, who has also guided the Cougars to seven state champions, the most recent having come in 2015. COC has also claimed 22 Western State Conference titles.

Canyons will now have an opportunity to defend its state title.