Grimonpon's Run at State Tourney Concludes Cougars' Season

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

MADERNA — College of the Canyons freshman Paul Grimonpon finished his two-day run at the CCCAA State Championship tournament held at Dragonfly Golf Club tied for 38th place in the individual player standings.

Grimonpon began the two-day tourney with a score of 79 during Sunday's opening round leaving him tied for 54th in the field of 60 golfers, which included eight participating teams and qualifying individuals from both the North and South regions.

The freshman out of Genech, France improved on that mark during Monday's round with a two-under-par round of 70 to finish at 149 for the tournament. 

His day-two score represented one of 20 under-par rounds on the day and was just three strokes off the pace of the tourney's low round of 67. 

Reedley College (711-355/356) won the state title by six strokes over runner-up Saddleback College (717-356/361). Sierra College (724-361/363) was third in the team standings.

Napa Valley (731-366/365), Fresno City (732-364/368), Cuyamaca (733-363/370), Riverside City (734-371/363) and College of the Desert (736-371/365) rounded out the tournament field.

Carson Adams of Saddleback College was the individual state champion with a two-day score of 136 (68/68).

Grimonpon's appearance at the state championships brings the men's golf program's season to a close.

Canyons concluded the regular season by winning the program's 12th straight Western State Conference (WSC) championship and seeing four players, including Grimonpon, earn All-WSC honors. The Cougars then finished seventh at the CCCAA Southern California Championships while seeing Grimonpon play well enough to qualify for the state tourney.  

COC began the 2023 season as defending back-to-back CCCAA state champions (2019, 2022). The CCCAA did not host a state title event in 2020 or 2021 due to cancellations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to this season COC had played at the state championships every year dating back to 2012.

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 by Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information