No. 6 MGCCC earns 10th straight trip to nationals

SAUCIER – No. 6 Mississippi Gulf Coast put a dismal first round in the rearview mirror and sprinting back up the NJCAA District D Tournament leaderboard to finish second.

The Bulldogs shot 5-under Tuesday to earn their 10^th straight trip to the NJCAA Division II Tournament. They improved two spots in the team standings.

No. 5 Copiah Lincoln won the tournament, finishing 12-over. Gulf Coast was 12 shots back, with No. 4 Meridian another four back.

"We proved the old adage that you can lose it on the first day of the tournament but you can't win it," Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. "We just didn't play well the first day, but I'm really proud of the way they fought today. They were really low at one time. I think we were 12-under at one time, and the course wasn't playing that easy."

Colin Troxler (So., Hahnville/Luling, La.) charged up the leaderboard, moving up 15 spots to tie for fourth and earn All-District D Team honors. He shot a tournament low 4-under 68.

Jonathon Newman (So., North Pike/Summit) was 1-under Tuesday and finished tied for ninth. Wyatt Adkison (So., East Central/Hurley) finished tied for sixth after shooting even, and Jackson Wedgeworth (Fr., West Jones/Soso) tied for ninth with another 72.

Northwest's Cameron Foster shot a second straight 72 to win medalist honors.

The national tournament is being played at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. It takes place May 23-26.

Gulf Coast saw its streak of nine straight region championships end, but their streak of national tournament appearances looked in jeopardy after a terrible Monday. The Bulldogs reeled in East Mississippi and Meridian with their sizzling Tuesday.

"They could have gotten down in the dumps," Snell said. "To beat a good team like meridian out of second place, they really did a good job." 

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.