Canyons Finishes Runner-Up at SoCal Preview

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director   

BAKERSFIELD — College of the Canyons put its talents to the test at the 3C2A Southern California Preview held at Rio Bravo Country Club on Monday, with the Cougars settling for second place after a card-off with host Bakersfield College.

Canyons (53-1) ended the day with a five-man score of 379 which included an even par round from freshman Ethan Posthumus. Bakersfield matched that total but saw its non-scoring player come to the clubhouse a stroke ahead of the COC sixth man.

Bakersfield (379) won the event followed by Canyons, Mt. San Antonio College (380), Cuyamaca College (386) and Citrus College (389) across the first five stops of the 16-team field.

The second-place result was the first of the season for COC which remains undefeated at Western State Conference (WSC) events.

Posthumus' round placed him in a three-way tie for second place, two strokes behind event medalist Fisher Ransom (70) of Cuyamaca. Fellow freshman Hugo Boyer was next for the Cougars at 73 which placed in fifth in the individual standings which featured more than 100 players. 

Sophomore Paul Grimonpon ended the day 76 and was joined by Alexis Benchelef (79) and Owen Crockett (79) to round out the Cougars' scores. An-Chieh Tsai, who was playing in his first event of the season, had his round of 83 scratched from the final tally.

Canyons will face another round of fierce competition at next week's 3C2A State Preview at Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta, with the field scheduled to include several of the top programs from across the state.

COC will return to conference play on Monday, March 25 at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale.

TEAM SCORES (FINAL)
1. Bakersfield (379) 2. Canyons (379) 3. Mt. SAC (380) 4. Cuyamaca (386) 5. Citrus (389) 6. SBCC (397) 7. Glendale (397) 8. Orange Coast (400) 9. Ventura (403) 10. Riverside City (408) 11. Cypress (408) 12. Saddleback (410) 13. Desert (412) 14. AVC (429) 15. Mt. JAC (450) 16. Allan Hancock (453)

CANYONS INDIVIDUAL SCORES (FINAL)
Ethan Posthumus (72-T2nd); Hugo Boyer (73-5th) Paul Grimonpon (76); Alexis Benchelef (79); Owen Crockett (79); An-Chieh Tsai (83)

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 X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo courtesy of Bakersfield College Athletics