Lightle Ends First 18 Holes at Willamette Valley Cup in a Tie for 11th Place

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Preston Lightle (Fy., Victoria, BC, Canada/Belmont Senior Secondary School) of Willamette University was tied for 11th place after the first round of the Willamette Valley Cup on Saturday, March 16 at Creekside Golf Club. Lightle and two other golfers each shot a 73 in the first round. He was tied with Gabe Cach of Whitworth University and Jacob Smissen from Linfield University. Oliver Smith (So., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS), competing for Willamette's "B" team, was part of a five-way tie for 14th place at 74.

Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) topped the team leaderboard with a score of 282 and a 13-stroke lead. Linfield was second at 295, while Pacific Lutheran University held third place at 296. Two teams, North Idaho College and Whitworth, shared fourth place at 297.

Whitman College followed in sixth place at 299 and Southern Oregon was seventh at 300. Willamette's "A" team was in eighth place at 301 and the Willamette "B" team was ninth at 306. George Fox University was 10th at 309, with Pacific University in 11th at 311, and Corban University in 12th place at 330. Lewis & Clark College and Bushnell University did not enter full teams.

Jackson Muramoto of Bushnell was in first place among individual golfers with a score of 4-under par 68 after 18 holes. Bryden Brown and Luke West, both from Lewis-Clark State, were tied for second place at 3-under par 69. Tanner Frinell of Pacific Lutheran and Jarett Giles from North Idaho shared fourth place at 2-under par 70. Marcus Otto from PLU was in sixth place after carding a 1-under 71.

Four golfers were tied for seventh at even-par 72. The tied included Oscar Behle and Alex Navarro from Lewis-Clark State, along with Alexander Knox of Whitman and Zack LaPlace from Linfield. The tie involving Lightle was next on the leaderboard and was followed by the tie that included Smith from Willamette.

Lightle topped the Willamette "A" team on Saturday with his 73. Also competing on the Willamette "A" team this weekend are Brock Olson (So., Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS), Jack McMullin (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS), Kyler Phillips (Fy., Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad HS), and Alexander Papajohn (Fy., Parker, CO/Lutheran HS). Olson carded a 75 and was tied for 19th place out of the 83 golfers entered in the tournament. McMullin shot a 76 and was tied for 34th place. Phillips registered an 18-hole score of 77, while Papajohn shot an 81 in the first round.

For the Willamette "B" team, Smith led the way with his score of 74. The Willamette "B" team also includes Paxton Jones (Jr., Wellington, NZ/Scots College), Jack Carr (Fy., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage HS), Connor Murphy (So., Palm Desert, CA/Xavier College Prep), and Lucas Paul (So., Salem, OR/South Salem HS). Jones shot at 76 in the first round, while Carr and Murphy each shot a 78. Paul ended the 18 holes with an 82.

The tournament will conclude with the second round, set for Sunday, March 17. A shotgun start will open the round at 9 a.m. PDT.

For the Willamette "A" team, Papajohn will begin the day at Hole 7, McMullin was start at Hole 8A, Phillips will get underway at Hole 8B, Lightle will tee off at Hole 9A, and Olson will begin at Hole 9B.

Golfers on the Willamette "B" team also have been assigned locations for the shotgun start. Murphy will get underway at Hole 13A, with Paul starting at Hole 13B, and Jones beginning at Hole 14A. Also for the Bearcats, Carr will open the round at Hole 14B and Smith will return to action at Hole 15B.