By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Cleveland, Ohio---The No. 8 Owens Community College men's golf team tied for a first place finish in today's Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) North Invitational. However, couple that with a second place finish in yesterday's Lakeland Invitational, and Owens will be unable to catch first place Cincinnati State for an OCCAC championship despite having one conference tournament remaining.
The second place finish ends a bid for three straight OCCAC championships by Owens, but they still have a chance for a third straight trip to nationals early next month.
Lakeland Invitational
Owens shot a 308 to finish 12 strokes behind first-place Cincinnati State yesterday at Quail Hollow Country Club.
Columbus State Community College (329) and Lakeland Community College (354) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Harrison Long (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) shot a team-low 73, while Philippe Weppernig (Luzern, Switzerland) fired a 76. Other scores included Dominic DiGiacomo (Ocean City/Ocean City, N.J.) with a 79, Christian Bienaime (Lake Brantley/Altamonte Springs, Fla.) with an 80, Dru Hein (Jasper/Jasper, Ind.) with an 82 and Wyatt Spalding (Summerfield/Petersburg, Mich.) with an 83.
Alex Edel of Cincinnati State shot a 68 to capture medalist honors.
The tournament marked the fourth straight second place finish for Owens behind Cincinnati State in conference play.
OCCAC North Invitational
Owens shot a 311 to finish in a first place tie with Cincinnati State in today's OCCAC North Invitational.
Columbus State (325) and Lakeland (353) finished third and fourth.
Weppernig shot a team-low 76, just one stroke ahead of Long and DiGiacomo's 77's. Hein came in at 81 and Spalding had an 83.
Taylor Suggs of Cincinnati State shot a 75 to earn medalist honors.
OCCAC Standings
Through five of the season's six conference tournaments, Cincinnati State has clinched first place with 19.5 points. Owens sits at 15 points in second place. If Owens were to win next weekend's Owens Invitational and Cincinnati State finished fourth, Owens would still be unable to catch them in the standings.
Columbus State (10.5) and Lakeland (5) are third and fourth in the OCCAC standings.
Next Up
Owens will close conference play on Sunday by hosting the Owens Invitational at Belmont Country Club at 1:30 p.m. The team will then participate in the OCCAC Match Play Championship next Monday, which doesn't count towards standings, before beginning postseason play with the Region XII Tournament May 11-12.