SMCC Men's Golf Wins Thunderbird Fall Classic
PHOENIX ---
Sophomore Jorge Parada won a tiebreaker over teammate freshman Randy Weis to claim individual medalist honors at the Thunderbird Fall Classic at Dobson Ranch Golf Course in Mesa, Ariz., on Nov. 5-6. Parada and Weis finished at -9 (135) and matched identical scores of four-under 68 and five-under 67, but Parada ultimately prevailed in a scorecard playoff. As a team, SMCC won the event with a team score of -15 (561), 16 strokes better than second-place Eastern Arizona, with Kenny Taylor, Luke Padilla, Jaxson Wright, and Adam Croix posting top-10 finishes.
Parada, who won the PVCC Fall Invitational and tied for individual medalist honors at the ENMU-Ruidoso High Country Shootout, continued his stellar play. He had six birdies in his opening round and followed that up with six more in his second round. Weis had three birdies in his first round and ended with an eagle three on the par-five No. 18. His second round had seven birdies, including five over the opening nine holes.
Taylor and Padilla tied for sixth at -2 (142). Taylor produced two rounds of one-under 71 and had three birdies and an eagle three on the par-five No. 18 in his first round. In his second round, he carded three birdies and posted an eagle three on the par-five No. 5. Padilla moved up six spots on the final leaderboard with a final round three-under 69 after opening with a one-over 73. He had three birdies in the opening round and closed with six in the second.
Wright and Croix tied for eighth at -1 (143). Wright posted scores of 71 and 72 and had five birdies over the 36 holes. Croix had seven birdies over the two days and posted scores of 71 and 72.
Sophomore Basil Strolz jumped six spots on the final leaderboard with a second-round two-under 70 after opening with a four-over 76. He had three birdies in his first round and six in his second, including two of the final three holes.
SMCC posted rounds of seven-under 281 and eight-under 280 as a team. Weis and Padilla played as individuals at the tournament.
