PUEBLO, Colo. — Michael Jura and the Stanislaus State men's golf team both narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday, as the Warriors were one stroke away from an automatic team spot, and Jura was one stroke back of an individual bid on the final day of the West/South Central Super Regional at Pueblo Country Club.
Stanislaus State made a strong push on the regional's final day. The Warriors entered Saturday tied for fifth with two other teams and needing to be among the top-four to move on to the national championship. Stan State fell as far as seventh place after playing the front nine at 2-over.
The Warriors made a charge on the back nine, playing 5-under and entering the clubhouse in fourth place and with a two-stroke lead over fifth-place Oklahoma Christian. But the Eagles were just one stroke better (-3) than the Warriors (-2) on the day, slipping past Stan State and into the final team qualifying spot.
Stanislaus State finished with a 2-under 282 on Saturday to finish the tournament at 3-under 849 (279-288-282—849). The fifth-place finish was the program's best at an NCAA Regional since 2017 when it finished second at Brookside Country Club in Stockton. The Warriors were the best finishing team from the West Region after entering the Super Regional as the No. 8 seed. The closest finishing West Region team was fellow California Collegiate Athletic Association member Cal State San Marcos, six strokes back in sixth place. No. 1 West Region seed Western Washington finished tied for 13th. No. 2 seed Simon Fraser was second-to-last in 19th. CCAA champion and No. 3 seed Sonoma State also tied for 13th.
Meanwhile, Jura had a chance to grab one of the two individual spots to the national championship. He shot a 5-under 66 on Thursday and was in second place overall, but after a 3-over 74 on Friday, he had work to do. Jura bounced back on Saturday and shot a 4-under 67 on the par-71 course. He was even with Cal State Monterey Bay's Liam Allder through 15 holes.
After a bogey by Jura and a birdie by Allder on the par-4 16th, Allder held a two-stroke lead for the second and final individual spot. Allder would par both of his final holes, and a birdie by Jura on 18 wasn't enough, leaving him one stroke short.
Jura finished tied for fourth at 6-under for the tournament (66-74-67—207). It was the best individual finish for a Warrior since 2010 when Brandon Taylor tied for second.
Chris Ebster tied for 27th after shooting even par in the third round (71) and in the tournament (70-72-71—213).
Brad Sparrer tied for 32nd with a 1-over 214 for the tournament after a 3-over 74 on Saturday.
Tim Sauer had the Warriors' second-best score of the day on Saturday, shooting a 1-under 70. He tied for 42nd on the individual leaderboard at 2-over 215 (72-73-70—215).
Armaan Sahota continued his daily improvement, shooting a 3-over 75 on Saturday. He finished tied for 105th.
Host Colorado State Pueblo won the Super Regional team title with a 7-under 845 team score. Cal State San Marcos' Matthew Pennington won the individual title after a four-hole playoff with a 9-under 204 total.
