Tournament Results

CHICO, Calif. - Freshman Ezra Arneson carded 9 birdies en route to a 7-under-par 65 to lead the Western Washington University men's golf team to a tie for first place finish at the Chico State InterWest Insurance Wildcat Classic played Monday and Tuesday at Butte Creek Country Club.

The Vikings started the day in a tie for 5th place and 10 shots back, but caught fire to shoot a 2-under-par 286 to grab a share of the team title with tournament host Chico State. Chico State recorded an 8-over-par 296 in the final round and third-place California Baptist carded a 5-under-par 283 to move up four spots to finish in third place in the 16-team field.

"The vibe from the moment these five got on the plane to head down here was excellent," said head coach Luke Bennett. "The seniors took leadership from the start and the freshman were fired up to be here. We played consistent all three days against very good teams in our region. I've told the guys over and over we can compete with anyone, and today we did that. A truly great team performance."

Chico State won the drop-score tiebreaker, with the team's drop scores for each of the three rounds totaled to determine the winner, but the tournament hosts presented Western with the trophy to take back to Bellingham.

Arneson (Lynden, WA) carded 9 birdies and a pair of bogeys in his historic round to move him from a tie for 66th place through the first two rounds to a tie for 17th in the tournament. Early in his round he rattled off six consecutive birdies on holes 8-13 (started on hole 6). The round is tied for the 7th-lowest in program history relative to par, matching the 7-under-par 64 fired by senior Brett Johnson (Ridgefield, WA) in the first round of last year's GNAC Championships at Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort.

"That round by Ezra was phenomenal," said Bennett. "For any player to record six straight birdies, and then maintain that through the rest of his round, is amazing. He just played free today and let it happen for him."

With Arneson setting the course on fire, the rest of the team played steady to lift the team to the first place tie. Johnson was the highest placing Viking finishing in a tie for 10th place at 3-over-par 219 (71-75-73). Senior Jeffrey Marcum (Richland, WA) and Arneson tied for 17th place at 4-over-par 220 and freshman Ethan Casto (Snohomish, WA) tied for 24th at 5-over-par 221 (72-75-74).

"This really shows the depth of our program," added Bennett. "We are a team of 10 and the competition in qualifying really shows the depth of our program and will only help us as we finish out a strong fall and gear up for a great spring season."

Nic Beno (71-71-72) of Colorado School of Mines won individual medalist honors finishing the 54-hole tournament at 2-under-par 214. WWU finished with four players in the top 25, the

The Vikings will conclude their fall season October 17-18 at the Cal State Monterey Bay Invitational at Bayonet & Blackhorse Golf Club in Seaside, California.

Here is a look at WWU's scores and the final team standings in the tournament:

-- @WWUMGolf--