SEASIDE, Calif.---Carson Diaz finished 10th individually to lead Stan State men's golf to a seventh-place finish at the Otter Invitational, which concluded Tuesday at Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course.
The Warriors finished the 54-hole tournament at 43-over par 903 after rounds of 303, 298 and 302. Stan State entered the final round in seventh place and maintained its position in the 13-team field, finishing three strokes behind Cal State East Bay and three strokes ahead of Colorado School of Mines.
DIAZ FINISHES 10TH
Diaz recorded his best finish of the season, placing 10th at four-over par 219 (72-73-74). The senior from Porter Ranch, Calif., entered the final round tied for fifth and carded a three-over 74 on Tuesday to secure his second top-20 finish of the fall season.
Menlo's Chase Yukawa captured individual medalist honors at four-under par 211 (71-71-69), finishing three strokes ahead of runner-up Alex Cooke of Cal State Monterey Bay, who finished at one-under 214. Cooke's teammate Ben Christian finished third at even-par 215, while Menlo's Cesare Pagliughi placed fourth at one-over 216.
WARRIOR SCORES
Junior
Riley Kirk moved up four spots during Tuesday's final round to finish tied for 29th at 13-over 228 (78-75-75). Kirk carded a four-over 75 in the final round.
Senior
Ricky Sullivan finished tied for 39th at 15-over 230 (77-74-79), while sophomore
Mason Montgomery tied for 47th at 17-over 232 (76-77-79). Montgomery entered the tournament after being named the FloCollege/CCAA Men's Golfer of the Week last week following his performance at the RCA Electric Fall Invitational in Monterey.
Sophomore
Sinjin Armstrong made the biggest improvement among the Warriors during the final round, moving up 12 spots to finish 53rd at 19-over 234 (84-76-74). Armstrong matched Diaz for the lowest final-round score among the Warriors with a three-over 74.
Junior
Ryan Giardino, competing as an individual, finished tied for 55th at 20-over 235 after rounds of 77, 82 and 76.
BIRDIES
Stan State recorded 37 birdies during the three-day Otter Invitational, including five by individual
Ryan Giardino. Diaz led the Warriors with nine birdies, followed by Armstrong, Kirk and Montgomery with six each. Sullivan and Giardino each finished with five birdies.
NATIONAL POLL
Eight of the 13 teams competing in the Otter Invitational were nationally ranked or receiving votes in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches' Poll. Cal State San Bernardino was ranked No. 13 nationally, while Chico State was No. 16. Six other teams were receiving votes: Cal State Monterey Bay (34), Cal State San Marcos (28), Stan State (27), Cal State East Bay (15), Colorado School of Mines (8) and Menlo (6).
TEAM STANDINGS
Host Cal State Monterey Bay captured the tournament championship, finishing at even-par 860 (286-298-276) after shooting an eight-under par 276 in Tuesday's final round. The Otters finished 12 strokes ahead of runner-up Menlo, which finished at 12-over 872 (293-289-290).
No. 13 Cal State San Bernardino placed third at 28-over 888 (286-306-296), followed by Cal State San Marcos in fourth at 33-over 893 (293-300-300) and No. 16 Chico State in fifth at 35-over 895 (291-301-303).
Cal State East Bay finished sixth at 40-over 900 (298-304-298), followed by Stan State in seventh at 43-over 903 (303-298-302). Colorado School of Mines placed eighth at 46-over 906 (303-303-300), followed by Westmont in ninth at 48-over 908 (301-307-300) and South Mountain Community College in 10th at 52-over 912 (295-304-313).
Dominican finished 11th at 61-over 921 (303-307-311), Cal State Dominguez Hills placed 12th at 62-over 922 (307-309-306) and Vanguard rounded out the field in 13th at 78-over 938 (307-318-313).
UP NEXT
Stan State concluded its three-tournament fall schedule at the Otter Invitational. The Warriors return to competition Feb. 15-16, 2027, at the CSUDH Invite at Shadow Hills Country Club in Indio, Calif.
