Riverside captures Orange Empire golf title with solid rounds
CHINO HILLS, Calif. - Riverside City College captured the Orange Empire Conference men’s golf championship by winning both the morning and afternoon rounds on the Los Serranos Country Club courses in Chino Hills to distance itself from Cypress College and the rest of the pack. The Tigers edged Cypress by just two strokes during the morning round on the North Course (362-364), but posted a 10-stroke advantage over Orange Coast (371-381)and 16 strokes better than Cypress (387) in the afternoon round on the South Course to cruise to the conference title.
Riverside sophomore Everett Najera was the individual medalist with a 4-under-par 68 in the morning round and a 2-under-par 72 in the afternoon to finish six strokes under par on the day. Teammate Robby Melton (72-73) and Saddleback College sophomore Austin Briggs (70-75) finished tied for runner-up honors at 145. Matt Rafter of Cypress College was a stroke back at 146 (70-76).
Riverside, Cypress, and Orange Coast have all qualified to advance to next Monday’s CCCAA South Regional Championship at the El Camino Country Club in Oceanside along with individual qualifiers Austin Briggs (Saddleback), James Hochsprung (Mt. San Antonio), and Dylan Stone (Mt. San Antonio). Stone shot a pair of 74’s at the OEC Championship to earn the automatic berth as the lowest score in the conference championship of those players not on qualifying teams.