Vaquero season ends with eighth-place Regional finish

College of the Canyons shot rounds of 374 and 373 on Monday to defeat Cypress by 11 shots and capture the Southern Cal Regional men's golf title at Bakersfield CC.

SBCC had an off-day, shooting 401 and 400 for an 801 total that was eighth in the field of nine. The top four teams and top six individuals not on those teams advanced to the State Championships, which will be held next Monday at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta.

Zach Steinberger led the Vaqueros with rounds of 76 and 78 for a 154 that tied him for 17th in the 67-player field. Steinberger was seventh among individuals not on the top-4 teams, missing a State berth by one stroke. Kotaro Noda shot 155 (80-75) and tied for 21st. His 75 was a season best and tied for eighth in the second round.

Jones Comerford of Canyons was the medalist, shooting 74 and 69 for a 1-under 143 that was two strokes better than Myoung Kim (76-69) of Orange Coast and Matt Rafter (72-73) of Cypress.

Canyons, the WSC champion, will be seeking its second straight CCCAA State title and third in the last four years in Monday's 36-hole tourney. The players will start on the 1st and 10th tees, beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Southern Cal Regional
At par-72 Bakersfield CC
36-hole scores
 Team (top 4 advance to State) --1, Canyons 374-373--747. 2, Cypress 378-380--758. 3, Orange Coast 382-379--761. 4, Riverside 379-395--774. 5, Ventura 391-390--781. 6, Palomar 403-382--785. 7, Desert 392-404--796. 8, SBCC 401-400--801. 9, Hancock 404-406--810.
 Medalist -- 1, Jones Comerford, Canyons, 74-69--143. 2 (tie), Myong Kim, Orange Coast, 76-69--145; Matt Rafter, Cypress, 72-73--145. 4, Kieran Bludell, Mt. San Jacinto, 72-75--147. 5 (tie), Joey Herrera, Ventura, 72-76--148; Denis Kakimoto, Ventura, 73-75--148.
 SBCC scores -- Zach Steinberger 76-78--154, Kotaro Noda 80-75--155, Gabe Cloquet 77-83--160, Mikha Benedictus 85-79--164, Felix Dine 83-85--168, Jack Heavey 85-88--173.
 SBCC final record -- 91-52.