Final Tournament Results  

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Western Washington University men's golf team recorded one of the best team rounds in program history registering a 12-under-par 276 in the final round of The Visit Stockton Cactus Thaw at Brookside Country Club to open the 2017 spring season.

WWU finished in a tie for 3rd in the 22-team field with a 36-hole team score of 9-under-par 567, moving up from a tie for 7th place to start the day.

The 12-under-par round is tied for 4th-lowest round relative to par in program history, trailing only -15 (273, Grand Canyon University Fall Invitational, Oct. 4, 2010), -14 (274, Cal State Bakersfield Spring Invitational, Feb. 28, 2005) and -13 (275, WWU Invitational, Sept. 26, 2005).

"It was a great day for the WWU Vikings on the course," said fourth-year head coach Luke Bennett. "We played well from start to finish, and didn't take our foot off the pedal. I am really proud of how we prepared for this tournament, even without being able to be on the course much in Bellingham due the weather, and came out and made a statement against a really good tournament field."

The tournament serves as a preview of the upcoming NCAA II West/South Central Regional that will be held May 8-10. WWU has a string of 18 consecutive seasons advancing to the NCAA regional championships.

Senior Jeffrey Marcum (Richland, WA/South Mountain CC) was the highest placing WWU player, tying for 6th in the 123-player field. Marcum fired a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday, backing up his 2-under-par round of 70 on Monday, to finish the tournament at 5 under par (139).

Freshman Ethan Casto (Snohomish, WA) finished in a tie for 13th place at 3 under par for the tournament (141) after carding a 4-under 68 on Tuesday. Senior Brett Johnson (Ridgefield, WA/Oregon State) tied for 25th with a 36-hole total of 2-under-par 142 with matching rounds of 1-under-par 71 on the 6,777, par 72 layout.

Senior Chris Hatch (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak) fired a 4-under-par 68 on Tuesday playing a bogey-free round to move up to a tie for 46th place. Sophomore transfer Nick Sparling (Dublin, OH/Ohio State) shot an even-par 72 to finish at +7 for the tournament.

"I thought our whole team, especially Jeffrey (Marcum) and Brett (Johnson) struck the ball exceptionally well today," added Bennett. "I could not be prouder of the way these guys battled back from a tough finish yesterday to put up a remarkable score today."

California Baptist took home the team title finishing the tournament at 12 under par (564), turning in a final round total of 10-under-par 278. BYU Hawai'i moved up 5 spots to finish in 2nd place after shooting the low round of the tournament with a 14-under-par 274 on Tuesday.

Cal Baptist junior Greg Gonzalez took home individual medalist honors finishing at 8 under par with back-to-back rounds of 4-under-par 68. Gonzalez recorded 9 birdies and had only 1 bogey in his 36 holes.

The Vikings return to the course March 20-21 at the California Baptist Invitational played at Eagle Glen Golf Club in Corona, California.

Here is a look at WWU's scores from the two-day tournament and the complete team standings:

-- @WWUMGolf --