By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Perrysburg, Ohio---Christian Bienaime (Lake Brantley/Altamonte Springs, Fla.) shot a team-low 77 to lead the No. 8 Owens Community College men's golf team to a first place finish in today's Owens Invitational at Belmont Country Club.
Bienaime's performance helped Owens finish with a 312 as a team, which was six strokes better than second place Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Columbus State Community College (330) and Lakeland Community College (340) finished third and fourth.
Finishing just behind Bienaime were Harrison Long (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) and Dru Hein (Jasper/Jasper, Ind.), who each shot a 78. Philippe Weppernig (Luzern, Switzerland) also shot in the 70s and finished with a 79. Dominic DiGiacomo (Ocean City/Ocean City, N.J.) and Wyatt Spalding (Summerfield/Petersburg, Mich.) shot an 81 and 85, respectively.
Cincinnati State's Alex Ebel took home medalist honors with a 73. Bienaime's 77 was good for second place.
Today's tournament also counted as the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Sub-Region XII tournament. Owens and Columbus State each qualified for the Region XII tournament on May 11-12. Cincinnati State, which competes at the NJCAA Division III level, qualified for their Region XII tournament, as well.
Individually, Lakeland Community College's Nick Pae, John Bloomstrom and Ty Hradek qualified for the Division II Region XII tournament.
All four teams will be back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Belmont Country Club with the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) Ryder Cup Tournament. The tournament, which doesn't count in conference standings, is held as a fun way to finish the regular season before teams head to the postseason.
OCCAC Honors
Today's tournament also marked the end of conference play for all four teams. All-conference teams will be announced tomorrow at OwensExpress.com. Cincinnati State previously clinched this year's team championship.
After tying Cincinnati State for first place in this past Monday's OCCAC North Invitational, Owens captured its first outright tournament championship of this conference season.