Tigers enjoy a red-letter day at OEC championship
Riverside City College held a narrow lead over Santiago Canyon College heading into the 36-hole conference championship on Wednesday at the Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, but the Tigers easily walked away with the conference title this season while the rest of teams were left seeing red.
The Tigers had four players come in under par during the morning round on the par-74 south course, helping the team to a five-man team score of 14-under-par 356. Santiago Canyon, which posted a 1-under-par team score of 369, placed second in the morning while Orange Coast needed to count its sixth man to break a tie with Cypress for fourth place.
Riverside enjoyed a 7-under-par score of 67 posted by Chad Hambright (pictured) while Robby Melton (69), Wes Hatton (71), and Eric Cross (73) were also under par. Each score which is under par is written in red during most tournaments to highlight the achievement. Hambright was one of only three players to post a red score in the afternoon round, carding a 2-under-par 70 on the par-72 north course.
Santiago Canyon saw Alex Valadez post a 4-under par 70 in the morning round while Ryan Mendoza added a 73. Cypress' James Kim also posted a 70 with Charger teammate Luca Yi finishing with a 71. Nate Noblitt of Irvine Valley posted a 72 as 10 players were in the red.
Higher temperatures in the afternoon also led to higher scores. Besides Hambright, only the Orange Coast duo of Connor Hurst (70) and Myles Valentine (71) finished below par during the afternoon round. The Pirate pair helped Orange Coast win the afternoon match with a team score of 368 to edge Riverside by four strokes. Saddleback took third with a 388 and Santiago Canyon slipped all the way to fourth with a 397. As a bit of an oddity, three of the 36 players either withdrew or were disqualified in the afternoon round.
Riverside's 9-1 record on the day helped the Tigers finish with a 49-6 conference record to step away from second-place Santiago Canyon College (44-11). Orange Coast would place third in the conference with a 35-20 record.
Hambright, who finished the season with a 71.2 average, was the individual medalist and named as the conference Player of the Year. Riverside head coach Steve Sigloch was named as the conference Coach of the Year.
Riverside, which placed third in the conference last season before going on to win the state title on its home course, will try to repeat as state champions as it heads into the post-season. The Tigers will be joined by Santiago Canyon and Orange Coast in the team competition at the CCCAA Southern Regional being played Monday (May 4) at the Olivas Links course in Ventura. In addition, Connor Whitcomb of Cypress and Irvine Valley's Noblitt qualified to play in the Southern Regional as individual competitors.
OEC Coach of the Year: Steve Sigloch, Riverside City College
OEC Player of the Year: Chad Hambright, Riverside City College
All-Conference Selections
Chad Hambright, Riverside City College
Wes Hatton, Riverside City College
Byron Busse, Santiago Canyon College
Connor Whitcomb, Cypress College
Robby Melton, Riverside City College
Austin Trcka, Santiago Canyon College
Tanner Dice, Santiago Canyon College
Nate Noblitt, Irvine Valley College
Bryson Bentley, Orange Coast College
Connor Hurst, Orange Coast College
Myles Valentine, Orange Coast College