OCC Hauls in Men's Golf Title

Going into Wednesday's 36-hole, two-round finale, the Orange Empire Conference title was still up for grabs as the top three teams were separated by just five wins from each other. 

Orange Coast College (75-13) took second in the first round and won the second to move into the top spot and claim the title with three more wins than Cypress College (72-16). College of the Desert finished in third (71-17), while Mt. San Antonio College (48-40) and Cuyamaca College (46-42) followed behind. 

The Pirates opened with a 364 in the first round and shaved nine strokes off their team score in the second part (355) to win the championship. Matt Ingram led Coast with an even-par 72 in the opening round and carded the best score of the day with a 66 in the second round.

Victor Valley College's Cory Rose shot under par in both rounds (68, 71) to grab the OEC Men's Golfer of the Year honor, finishing with a 70.3 season average – almost two strokes in front of the rest of the field. Along with All-OEC honors, Rose also secured his spot in the SoCal Regional Championship next month.

Joining Rose and Ingram on the All-Orange Empire Conference team were 10 other individuals: Vince Quintero (Cypress), Mason Montgomery (Desert), Linus Utter (Desert), Isaiah Torres (Mt. San Jacinto College), Zack Carlson (Cuyamaca), Troy Tarvin (OCC), Taiki Marsh (Cuyamaca), Victor Chaparro (OCC), Jacob Riegg (Mt. SAC), and Jacob Stacey (Desert).

The OEC will send five teams – OCC, Cypress, Desert, Mt. SAC and Cuyamaca – and fiveindividuals – Rose, Torres, El Camino College's Aden Henry, VV's Tyler Thomas and Riverside City College's Caden Rossi – to the SoCal Regional Championship held May 5 at the Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills.

 Release by Sammi Wellman, Riverside