UCSB’s Zach Smith carded a 6-over 78 in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday, putting him in a 17h-way tie for 87th after one day.
Smith, the first Gaucho to ever reach the Championship from a Regional qualifier, and only the second UCSB player to ever qualify for the Championships, carded a 5-over 41 on the front nine, then rallied with a 1-over 37 on the back nine, including a birdie on the par-5 15th hole, playing at 560 yards.
The senior sits tied for 87th in the 156-player field. He will play the next two rounds, but needs to get above the cutline in order to play in the final round.
Cal’s Collin Morikawa leads the field with a 5-under 67, two shots ahead of a trio of players at 3-under. The second round tees off today at 5:15 a.m. (PDT).
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
NAIA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Westmont’s run of success in Gulf Shores, Ala. continued, with a bit of a family twist
One day after Dana Nemitz claimed the title in the women’s pole vault, Warriors teammate Pieter Top broke his own school record in points to win the men’s decathlon, with Nemitz’s husband Jackson finishing sixth to claim All-American honors.
Top established his lead over the field on the first day with a 25-point advantage after the first five events of the two-day, 10-event discipline. He then extended the lead over the second day, finishing with a Westmont-record 7,080 points, a 125-point margin over the field.
His key was consistency, as he won the 100 meters, 400 and 1,500, took second in the long jump and 110 hurdles, third in the shot put and fifth in the pole vault.
Jackson Nemitz entered the day ninth in points, having never scored a top-10 finish nationally in his Warriors career. A big second day pushed him to a career-high 6,506 points, moving him up three spots and into All-American status.
A third Westmont athlete scored a top-10 finish in the event, with Marcus Alvarez winning the javelin to help him finish ninth (6,200).
As for qualifiers in other events, Jason Peterson (1:52.91) qualified for the men’s 800 meters.
On the women’s side, Nadya Wisham advanced to the finals of the women’s triple jump, leaping a PR of 38 feet, 83/4 inches to advance to today’s final.
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
CIF STATE FINALS
The San Marcos duo of Beau Allen and Jaydn Mata easily qualified for the finals of the boys high jump at the meet at Buchanan High School in Clovis.
Allen needed only one jump to advance, clearing the bar at 6-6, after passing at 6-4 in the opening round.
Mata took his first-round jump at 6-4, clearing it. He then missed his first attempt at 6-6, but cleared the second to advance.
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