Men's Golf Begins State Title Defense with Win at WSC Opener
By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director
GLENDALE — College of the Canyons started its state title defense in winning fashion, taking the top spot at the season opening Western State Conference (WSC) tournament hosted by Glendale College at Oakmont Country Club on Monday.
Canyons, the 2022 conference and state champions, carded a five-man score of 386 to win the event. The Cougars were followed by Santa Barbara City College (391), Ventura College (396) and host Glendale (409) in the top four spots.
Individually, sophomore Dom De Luca was the low man for the Cougars with a round of 74. That placed him second in the standings, one shot behind medalist AJ Ryland of Ventura.
COC sophomore Kieran Bye tied for fifth overall with a round of 77. That mark was followed by Xander Artois and Paul Grimonpon who both finished the day at 78, which tied for seventh overall.
Alexander Moores and Ben Stewart both finished 12th in the standings with rounds of 79, with one of those scores dropped from the final tally.
Up next, Canyons will compete in the WSC event hosted by Ventura at River Ridge Golf Course in Oxnard. Tee time is set for 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13.
TEAM SCORES
1. Canyons (386) 2. SBCC (391) 3. Ventura (396) 4. Glendale (409) 5. Citrus (418) 6. Bakersfield (440) 7. Antelope Valley (457) 8. Allan Hancock (481)
CANYONS INDIVIDUAL SCORES
Dom De Luca (74-2nd); Kieran Bye (77-T5th); Xander Artois (78-T7th); Paul Grimonpon (78-T7th); Alexander Moores (79-T12th); Ben Stewart (79-T12th)
FIELD INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS (TOP-20)
1 - 73 — A.J. Ryland (VC)
2 - 74 — Dom De Luca (COC)
3 - 76 — Caleb Rodrigues (SBCC); Murphy Scott (SBCC)
5 - 77 — Kieran Bye (COC); Elijah Delsi (VC)
7 - 78 – Xander Artois (COC); Paul Grimonpon (COC); Kevin Keinlen (GCC); Ryan Gay (SBCC); Kabir Chadha (CIT)
12 - 79 — Alexander Moores (COC); Ben Stewart (COC); Josh Kim (GCC)
15 - 80 — Henry Havemose (SBCC)
16 - 81 — Caleb Jameson (BC); Grant Harrer (BC); Jacob Aaron (SBCC); Kerry Valenzuela (CIT); Daichi Nishisu (CIT)
Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
—Photo courtesy of COC men's golf