Jones Leads NWC Spring Classic with a 67; Bearcats Trail Lutes by One Stroke

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

BREMERTON, Ore. -- Trent Jones (So., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) of Willamette University shot a 67 to claim a five-stroke lead in the first round of the Northwest Conference Spring Classic in men's golf on Saturday, April 8 at Gold Mountain Golf Club. In the team standings, Willamette was in second place with a score of 298, just one stroke behind Pacific Lutheran University at 297. The tournament will conclude with the final 18 holes on Sunday, April 9.

Jones was 4-under par on the par 71 course. He was the only golfer out of 45 competitors to finish the day below par. Mitchell Baldridge from Pacific Lutheran was in second place with a 1-over-par 72. Lucas Balala from Linfield College, Alex Plusquellec from George Fox University, and Ryan Sturdivan of PLU were tied for third place at 73.

Six golfers were bunched together in a tie for sixth place. Sharing the tie were PLU golfer Kyle Drugge, along with Mason Koch from GFU and Keegan Loo of Whitworth University, plus three athletes from University of Puget Sound -- Mac Turner, Jeremy Van den Berg and Casey Weston.

Kenneth Sheldon (So., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette was tied for 12th place with a 75. Fellow Bearcats Sam Hinton (So., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) and Peter Mitzel (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) each carded a 78 to tie with five other golfers for 17th place. Clark Wilson (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willmette shot 85.

Following Pacific Lutheran and Willamette in the team standings were Linfield in third place at 305, Puget Sound in fourth at 307 and George Fox in fifth at 308. Lewis & Clark College was sixth at 317, while Whitworth was seventh at 319. Whitman College followed in eighth at 322 and Pacific University was ninth at 333.

The NWC Spring Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the NWC team champion each season. The NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic are each worth one-fourth of the title, while the NWC Tournament is worth one-half of the title. This year's NWC Tournament is set for April 22-23 at the Tacoma Country & Golf Club in Tacoma, Washington.