Aztecs men's golf win 3rd straight Region I Championship; Gage, St. Clair and Daniels earn All-Region
The Pima Community College men's golf team took home its third straight Region I, Division I Championship on Sunday as the Aztecs won by one-stroke.
The Aztecs finished the tournament with a four-day total of 1213 (296-317-303-297). Eastern Arizona College shot five-strokes better than the Aztecs in the final round but finished with 1214 (297-320-305-292). Scottsdale Community College placed third with 1218 (306-310-304-298) and Estrella Mountain Community College took fourth with 1345.
Sophomore Nick St. Clair (Higley HS) and freshman Colton Gage (Cienega HS) proved to be the difference makers for the Aztecs in the final round. St. Clair shot an even-par 70 and tied for fifth place in the individual standings with a 304 (75-81-78-70). Gage shot a one-over par 71 and was the best finisher for the Aztecs as he took fourth place with a 302 (73-81-77-71). St. Clair and Gage earned All-Region honors.
Sophomore Jonah Daniels (Chaparral HS) shot an 80 in his final round but still earned All-Region honors as he tied for fifth with 304 (76-77-71-80).
Freshman Johnny Fiore (Marana HS) tied for ninth place with a 307 (72-80-77-78) and freshman Cooper Cordova (Mountain View HS) took 15th with a 323 (82-79-84-78).
"This showed how hard the team worked all year, we struggled a little more this year," Pima coach Clark Rustand said. "The light breaks happened at the right time and they capitalized. It was awesome. I wanted to test them a bit. I told them the only way to go to nationals was to win regionals. It came down to the wire.
"I'm very proud of Colton and Nick. They had tremendous up and downs to seal it for us.
It's nice to be mentioned in the same breath as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan as a three-peat Pima will be known as. We'll continue the tradition next year."
The Aztecs qualified for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament from May 16-19 at the Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City, KS.
See complete team and individual results of the Region I, Division I Championship on GolfStat:
http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=13256
