Canyons Claims 14th Straight WSC Championship, Posthumus Takes Individual Title

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director   

LLANO — College of the Canyons claimed its 14th straight Western State Conference (WSC) Championship at Crystalaire Country Club on Monday, with sophomore Ethan Posthumus also winning the conference's individual championship and three Cougars earning All-WSC accolades.

The Cougars won the opening round of the 36-hole tourney with a five-man score of 361, before tying with Santa Barbara City College at 359 during second-round action.

In total, Canyons posted a combined team score of 720 (361/359) on the par-72 course at Crystalaire. That performance topped runner-up Ventura College (735-372/363), third place Santa Barbara (733-374/359) and fourth-place Glendale College (771-382/389) on the day.

Citrus College (804-404/400), Antelope Valley College (835-429/406), Allan Hancock College (847-428/419) and Bakersfield College (850-420/430) rounded out the eight-team field.

Posthumus carded a pair of under-par rounds, shooting a 70 in the morning round before following up with a score of 71 to finish the day as event medalist.

COC freshman Jacques Struyf was next, tying with two others for second on the day with a three-under-par score of 69 during the first round followed by a score of 73 later in the day.

Sophomore Carson Diaz tied for eighth in the individual standings with his day, which included an opening round of 77 followed by a score 69 across the final 18. That three-under-par showing down the stretch tied with two others for the top score of the second round.

Anthony Nilson was steady throughout the day, with the freshman carding scores of 74 and 73 to finish 12th in the field of 47 individuals.

Owen Crockett finished even at 72 in the morning then ended his day at 77. That performance tied with Ed Beehag and two others for 13th in the field. Beehag carded rounds of 76 and 73 at the event.

Those combined performances helped Canyons take the conference title after finishing the year 76-1 vs. WSC opponents and posting an overall record of 100-6, including non-conference events. The Cougars won 9 of 10 conference tournaments, including the final six events dating back to March 10.

COC was followed by Ventura (64-13), Santa Barbara (58-19) and Glendale (40-37) in the top four spots of the season-long conference standings.

Individually, Posthumus took the conference championship after finishing the season's 11 conference rounds with 793 total strokes. Posthumus also earned tournament medalist honors on five occasions, including the final four events of the regular season.

Joining Posthumus on the All-WSC team are Struyf and Crockett.

Struyf finished the year second in the individual conference standings with a combined 11-round score of 811. He was also named the event medalist at two tournaments.

Crockett ranked fourth in the individual season standings with 826 strokes. The sophomore, who also helped the Cougars win the 2024 3C2A State Championship, finished in the top-10 at six WSC events.

The WSC championship is the 29th in program history and the 14th straight dating back to 2010. Canyons did not compete in the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to cancellations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cougars will be joined by Ventura, Santa Barbara and Glendale in advancing to the 3C2A Southern California Regional Championships, being played Monday, May 5, at Los Serranos Counry Club in Chino.

Canyons will be playing at the regional championships for the 29th straight year, dating back to 1995.

COC is looking to advance to the 3C2A State Championship Tournament scheduled for May 11-12 at Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside, CA.

TEAM SCORES
1. Canyons (720-361/359) 2. Ventura (735-372/363) 3. Santa Barbara (733-374/359) 4. Glendale (771-382/389) 5. Citrus (804-404/400) 6. Antelope Valley (835-429/406) 7. Allan Hancock (847-428/419) 8. Bakersfield (850-420/430)

CANYONS INDIVIDUAL SCORES 
Ethan Posthumus (141 (70/71) - medalist); Jacques Struyf (142 (69/73) - T2nd); Carson Diaz (146 (77/69 – T8th); Anthony Nilson (147-74/73 – 12th); Owen Crockett (149 (72/77 – T13th);  Ed Beehag (149 (76/73 – T13th)

FIELD TOP SCORES

1 - 141 - Ethan Posthumus (COC)
T2 - 142 – Jacques Struyf (COC); Brandon Flores (VC); Vicente Rodriguez (SBCC)
T5 - 144 – Ian Chapital (VC); Hugo de Mollerat (SBCC)
7 - 145 – Aiden Watts (SBCC)
T8 - 146 – Carson Diaz (COC); Logan Gonzalez (VC); Kyle Gordon (GCC); Gavin Loughran (GCC)
12 - 147 – Anthony Nilson (COC)
T13 - 149 – Owen Crockett (COC); Ed Beehag (COC); Nick Bublitz (VC); Pady Blinderman (SBCC)
17 - 153 – Andrew Gahshan (CIT)
18 - 155 – Nick Londono (AHC)
T19 - 156 – Matt Munro (SBCC); Kellen Willmore (SBCC); Nick Gutierrez (GCC)
T22 - 159 – Daniel Darwin (VC); Matthew Fisher (VC)
T24 - 160 – Connor Jazwiecki (AVC); Luke Dickenson (BC)
T26 - 161 – Javier Alvarado (CIT); Cameron Vallaro (CIT)
28 - 162 – Justin Huitink (GCC)
T29 - 163 – Jaxson Allen (GCC); Ethan Phillips (AVC)
T31 - 165 – Alex Morales (CIT); Carter Gauthier (CIT)
33 - 166 – Nico Mendoza (AHC)
T34 - 167 – Matthew Denne (GCC); Jacob Peters (AVC)
36 - 168 – Logan Stone (BC)
37 - 171 – Carson Ireland (AVC)
T38 - 172 – Braden Distelrath (CIT); Landon Bradford (BC)
T40 - 174 – Mikey Dubski (AVC); Vincent Van Fossen (BC)
T42 - 176 – Josue Elena (AHC); Jonathan Gomez (BC)
44 - 177 – Kyle Borsch (AHC)
45 - 180 – Ryan Cisneros (AHC)
46 - 186 – Braxton Bolyard (AVC)
NS – Chase Holland (AHC)

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