By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Kirtland, Ohio---The Owens Community College men's golf team clinched the program's sixth Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) championship this past weekend after finishing first and second in a pair of weekend tournaments hosted by Lakeland Community College.
The championship is the third over the past four seasons for Owens as they have claimed the crown in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and now 2016. They have the most championships among any teams in the OCCAC despite being in the league just 10 seasons officially.
On Sunday, Owens shot a 301 as a team to finish in first place at Quail Hollow's Weiskopf Course. They finished 12 strokes ahead of second place Cincinnati State, who was followed by Columbus State (326) and Lakeland (331).
For the second straight tournament, an Owens golfer fired a 69. Last week it was Dominic DiGiacomo (Ocean City/Ocean City, N.J.). On Sunday, it was Will Mullins (St. Bernadette's/Bristol, U.K.), who shot a 69 to finish seven strokes up in first place individually. Alex Ebel of Cincinnati State finished second, while Bandit Chaisuk (Phathumthapwittayakarn/Nong Khai, Thailand) and Harrison Quirk (Wilnecote/Tamworth, U.K.) finished in a four way tie for third place.
Other finishers for Owens included DiGiacomo (78, 7th place tie), Karit Kitipongpatana (St. Dominic School/Bangkok, Thailand) (78, 7th place tie) and Dylan Holsclaw (Plainfield/Plainfield, Ind.) (80, 10th place).
The following day, Owens shot a 319 to finish three strokes behind first place Cincinnati State at Quail Hollow Golf Club's Devlin Golf Course. The second place finished ended a run of five straight tournament championships to open the conference season for Owens. Lakeland (329) finished third, while Columbus State (345) finished fourth.
On Monday, Philip Campisi of Columbus State and Evan Bryan of Cincinnati State finished in a tie for first place individually at 76 apiece. For Owens, the low scorer was once again Mullins, who shot a 79 to tie DiGiacomo for fifth place. Kitipongpatana shot an 80 to tie for seventh place, while Chaisuk shot an 81 to finish ninth. Holsclaw and Quirk each shot an 83 to tie for 12th place.
Race for OCCAC Player of the Year
Mullins has totaled 445 strokes through six conference tournaments, which gives him a 74.17 average and puts him nine strokes ahead of DiGiacomo and Evan Bryan of Cincinnati State for first place with two tournaments left. Kitipongpatana is just behind throse three at a 460 total and a 76.67 average. Chaisuk is at 464, and Quirk has a 469 total as Owens has placed several golfers among the conference's elite.
For full results so far this year, visit here and select "stats" above the calendar on the right.
Looking Ahead
Owens will host two tournaments on Sunday and Monday at Belmont Country Club to close the conference season. Despite having locked up the OCCAC championship, Owens has plenty to fight for individually as Mullins leads the OCCAC Player of the Year standings and several others are up for All-OCCAC recognition depending on where they finish.
Mullins - OCCAC Player of the Week
For the second time this season, Mullins was named the OCCAC golfer of the week. After sharing the crown on April 10 with Bryan of Cincinnati State, DiGiacomo won last week. This week, Mullins took home the honor once again. He shot a 3-under par 69 for medalist honors on Sunday before firing a 79 on Monday. On Sunday, he shot a 4-under par 30 on the front 9, which is the lowest 9 hole score in league competition this year. His round included an eagle 3 on the 8th hole.