Wolverine freshman Kyler Ostrom wins CCCAA Men's Golf Championship
It was a great season for the Sierra College men's golf team as they made it back to state yet again, finishing seventh out of eight teams with an overall score of 778 over two days at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta.
Not only did the Wolverines compete down south as a team, but freshman and Placer alumnus Kyler Ostrom won the individual state title out of 62 total players with a score of even-par 144 on May 12-13. Ostrom shot a two-over par 74 on day one and fired a two-under-par round of 70, winning the CCCAA championship in a tiebreaker over Napa Valley's Markus Nanpei. The tiebreaker came down to the lower score on day two.
"It was a super good feeling coming in with a 70 on day two," Ostrom said. "I obviously was super excited, but I also had my family and teammates excited for me which was a great feeling. On day two, it was really my mental game that helped me play well."
It didn't come easy as Ostrom started his first round seven-over-par through seven holes, but he was able to recover and make multiple birdies on the back nine.
"I think the main thing that turned my game around was making the 8-14 foot putts," Ostrom said. "After a few rolled in, I knew that birdies were out there and I just had to grind. At one point I realized I was in the back of the pack sitting at +7, and basically just told myself to dig deep."
Only two players managed to shoot even par on the first day with much lower scores to come on day two. Ostrom shot the second-lowest round of the tournament on day two behind Bingcheng Zhang's 69. He went two-under on the same seven hole stretch that eluded him the day prior.
The Wolverines competed in over 10 Big 8 Conference tournaments this season that spanned from Mid February until playoffs started in May.
"Definitely the best moments about this season are the memories I've made with my team," Ostrom said. "In and off the golf course, this team was super fun to be around. Traveling with a good group of guys and playing golf for a college is a great experience and I've learned a lot throughout this year."
Sierra qualified for state as a team by finishing tied for third with Napa Valley in the Northern California Regional at Yolo Fliers Club in Woodland on May 5-6. The Wolverines shot 769, three strokes behind second place Fresno City and 15 shots behind Reedley who won the tournament. At state, Sierra beat out Cypress by one stroke while College of the Canyons won the tournament with a 751. Other Wolverines who competed at state include: Jacob Dredge (157), Jordan Boles (159), Nick Barton (159), Jackson Blakemore (162) and Nathan Pappas (168).
"I just want to express how important it is to keep pushing along, no matter what it is in life," Ostrom said. "In the beginning of the season things weren't how I wanted them. The team was struggling, and so was I, but we kept grinding and made it to NorCals and eventually to states where I had the biggest golf week of my life. Things will work out eventually, you just gotta keep trying."