Canyons Crowned 3C2A State Champions for 11th Time
By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director
GOLETA — College of the Canyons completed its 2024 campaign by bringing home the program's 11th 3C2A State Championship, its third in the last four seasons, at Sandpiper Golf Club on Monday.
Canyons extended its early opening-round lead to an eight-stroke advantage, finishing the two-day, 36-hole tournament with a five-man score of 751 (374/377). That placed the Cougars well ahead of runner-up and defending state champions Reedley College at 759 (375/384).
Santa Barbara City College, which hosted the state championship event, was third with a score of 769 (382/387) and Napa Valley College at 771 (381/390) slotted fourth in the eight-team field.
Canyons freshman Owen Crockett had the top finish for the Cougars, with the British Columbia native shooting a one-under-par score of 71 on Monday for a two-day total of 146 (75/71). That mark placed Crockett third in the field of more than 60 individual golfers. As a result, Crockett was named to the 3C2A All-State team.
COC sophomore Paul Grimonpon, who competed at the state tourney as an individual in 2023, finished seventh in the field at 146 (74/72) following an even-par outing on Monday. The Frenchman fell just outside of receiving All-State team honors after a series of tie breakers.
Freshman Hugo Boyer was the third Cougar to finish within the field's top-10 with a 36-hole score of 147 (72/75). Boyer, who also hails from France, finished the regular season as co-champion of the WSC Individual title.
Ethan Posthumus, who shared the individual conference title with Boyer, finished the state championship event at 153 (77/76), in a tie with three others for 18th place. That capped a season in which the British Columbia product was awarded medalist honors in three events.
Hannes Yngve was the final scoring player for Canyons, with the freshman from Sweden ending the tourney at 159 (76/83) in a tie for 41st.
COC also saw Ryan Giardino (83/DNP) and Alexis Benchelef (DNP/89) card rounds for the Cougars, with both having their scores scratched from the final team tallies.
Kyler Ostrom (144-74/70) of Sierra College was the individual state champion after winning a card-off vs. Markus Nanpei (144-72/72) of Napa Valley.
The 2024 state title caps a season in which Canyons also won the Western State Conference (WSC) and 3C2A Southern California Regional championships.
The Cougars posted a combined team record of 137-9 across 14 events, failing to win in just three tournaments. Included in that run was a program record three straight even-par rounds from April 1 to 15. In the following event, Canyons finished with a combined team score of seven-under-par to take a sixth straight conference tourney.
"This has been a group of kids who have struggled all year to make the lineup and when you go through struggles like that throughout the year, it prepares you for postseason events like this," Peterson said. "These guys learned how to overcome adversity on the golf course.
"Being able to score when you're not playing well, dealing with disappointments, falling out of the starting lineup," added Peterson. "It was a struggle for guys, but you know what? That's what golf is."
COC's 11 state championships (1993, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024), which represents a 3C2A record, have all come under head coach Gary Peterson, currently in his 42nd season.
Canyons has also won five women's golf state titles (2001, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2023) under Peterson.
On four occasions, Peterson has led the women's and men's programs to state titles in the same academic year (2001/2002, 2007/2008, 2018/2019, 2023/2024).
Additionally, the men's program won back-to-back state championships in 2019 and again in 2022. The 3C2A did not host seasons in 2020 and 2021 due to cancellations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to that, the women's team won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
"We've had some great teams here at Canyons," remembered Peterson on Monday, "but these guys might be a hair above the rest. This group had more rounds of golf at, or below par, than any team we've ever had here."
TEAM SCORES
1. Canyons (751-374/377) 2. Reedley (759-375/384) 3. Santa Barbara (769-382/387) 4. Napa Valley (771-381/390) 5. Fresno City (773-394/379) 6. Cuyamaca (775-389/386) 7. Sierra (778-386/392) 8. Cypress (779-382/397)
CANYONS INDIVIDUAL SCORES
Owen Crockett (146-75/71-3rd); Paul Grimonpon (146-74/72-7th); Hugo Boyer (147-72/75-T8); Ethan Posthumus (153-77/76-T18); Hannes Yngve (159-76/83-T41st); Ryan Giardino (NS – 83/DNP); Alexis Benchelef (NS -DNP/89)
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 Chris Mora/3C2A Men's Golf