Gomersall fires 4-under 68, takes 5-stroke lead in Pt. Conception Open

SBCC's Preston Gomersall made quite a splash in his college debut on Sunday, shooting 4-under 68 on the challenging La Purisima Golf Course in the opening round of the Point Conception Open in Lompoc.

Gomersall, who won last year's Channel League title for Santa Barbara High, will take a five-stroke lead into Monday's final round. Zach Brown of Palomar is second at 73 and Kyoshiro Azumada of Palomar is third at 74.

Felix Dine and Joachim Toft of SBCC are in an 8-way tie for fourth at 75.

The Vaqueros have a deep and talented roster this year, so they entered two teams in the 14-team season-opening tournament.

SBCC-2 leads the pack at 381. Reedley is second at 383 and SBCC-1 is third at 390. Palomar and Irvine Valley are tied for fourth at 393.

"This is my biggest roster by far," said coach Chuck Melendez of his 13-man roster. "We had some real battles in practice for the starting spots. That was a great round Preston shot today in his first college tournament."

The final round will start at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

Pt. Conception Open
At par-72 La Purisima GC
First round
 14 teams -- 1, SBCC-2 381. 2, Reedley 383. 3, SBCC-1 390. 4 (tie), Palomar 393, Irvine Valley 393. 6, Cypress 394. 7, Mt. SAC 402. 8, Desert 404. 9, Monterey Peninsula 409. 10, Ventura 412. 11, Mt. San Jacinto 417. 12, Bakersfield 427. 13, Taft 431. 14, Glendale 440. 15, Hancock, no score.
 Medalist -- 1, Preston Gomersall, SBCC, 68. 2, Zach Brown, Palomar 73. 3, Kyoshiro Azumada, Palomar, 74. 4 (8-way tie), Felix Dine, SBCC, 75; Joachim Toft, SBCC, 75.
 SBCC scores -- Team 1: 1, Preston Gomersall, 68. 20 (tie), Zach Steinberger 78. Theo Andre-Fouet 80, Trent Caraher 80, Gabe Cloquet 84, Brant Schenk 85. Team 2: 4 (tie), Felix Dine 75, Joachim Toft 75. 12 (tie), Skyler Booth 76. 17 (tie), JB Jandro 77. 22 (tie), Igor Haenel 78. Christian Mikkelstrup 83.