One University of Victoria Vikes golf team punched their ticket to the NAIA national championships Wednesday, but the other will have to wait for theirs.
Both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 Vikes teams earned silver medals Wednesday at the Association of Independent Institutions regional championships in Phoenix. The runner-up spot earned the men鈥檚 team a trip to the NAIA nationals, set for May 15-18 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.
But only one berth to nationals was available on the women鈥檚 side, and that went to the regional champion UBC Thunderbirds, who went wire-to-wire at the 36-hole event. The UVic women will now await word on an at-large berth to nationals.
The Vikes men went neck-and-neck with Our Lady of the Lake University on the final day but the squad from San Antonio, Texas, edged UVic by one stroke for the title.
Mike Griffin led the way for the men, with a three-round total of 219, good for second overall in the individual standings. Griffin was also named to the A.I.I. All-Conference team. Lawren Rowe also had a strong showing for UVic, cracking the top 10 after finishing with rounds of 76 and 71.
Quinn Fitzgerald and Cadence Hellmann led the UVic women, tying for second place overall. Fitzgerald had two rounds of 77, while Hellmann had rounds of 79 and 75.
Island golfers begin chase for PNGA Cup
An Island-heavy Team sa国际传媒 heads to Seattle Golf Club today looking to capture the prestigious Pacific Northwest Golf Association Cup.
The annual competition pits teams from sa国际传媒, Idaho, Washington and Oregon in a Ryder Cup-style competition.
Leading the sa国际传媒 team in the men鈥檚 mid-amateur event is former Canadian mid-Amateur champion Kevin Carrigan of Royal Colwood. Also on the men鈥檚 team is Victoria鈥檚 Craig Doell and Peter Jawl. Sandy Harper of Nanaimo will compete with Norm Bradley of Kelowna in the Masters-40 division.
The sa国际传媒 women鈥檚 mid-amateur team is an all-Island pairing of Karen Kloske of Lake Cowichan and Christina Proteau of Port Alberni. Alison Murdoch of the Victoria Club will compete in the senior women鈥檚 event.
The competition runs today and Friday with the Idaho Golf Association the defending champs.
Okell heats up on California track
Victoria鈥檚 Bill Okell came back from the Sports Car Club of America stop at Buttonwillow Raceway near Los Angeles with another victory to his name and a ticket to the season-ending SCCA national championships.
Okell, behind the wheel of Huffaker Engineering鈥檚 Austin Healey MKII, won Saturday鈥檚 GTL race and followed that up with a runner-up finish in Sunday鈥檚 second race.
The victory earned him an automatic berth to the national finals at Sonoma Raceway in mid-October and allowed him to remain in fourth spot in the Western Conference overall points race.
