By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

ALOHA, ORE. -- Behind the strength of five players finishing inside the Top 10, Willamette University defended its team title at the GFU Culturame Classic hosted by George Fox University Sunday at The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club.

The Bearcats held off tournament-host George Fox by a mere two strokes, as Willamette concluded the two-day event with a combined team score of 26-over 602 (297-305). Meanwhile, the host Bruins (298-307=605) outlasted Pacific Lutheran University (300-308=608) by three strokes for second place.

Willamette, GFU, and PLU were followed on the final team leaderboard by Lewis & Clark College (312-312=624), Linfield College (314-317=631), Whitman College (337-326=663), and Pacific University (335-335=670).

Individually, the Bearcats were led by Ryan Kukula (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Illwaco HS) with a second place finish following a 36-hole score of 3-over 148 (71-76) that tied George Fox's Halen Davis in the runner-up position behind Pacific Lutheran's Mitch Baldridge (71-71=142), who was the only player under par for the tournament.

Clark Wilson (So., Ocean Park, WA/Illwaco HS), Chase Lamothe (So., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS), Steven Rodriguez (Jr., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS), and Jonathan Ross (Sr., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS) all finished inside the Top 10 individually helping lead the Bearcats to the team title.

Despite Lamothe and Ross competing as individuals for the Bearcats, Kukula, Wilson, Rodriguez, Colin Fuller (So., Grants Pass, OR/Grants Pass HS), and Peter Mitzel (So., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS) made up this weekend's team for Willamette.

Wilson (73-75=148) finished fourth overall, while Lamothe (73-76=149) concluded in fifth place followed by Rodriguez (73-79=152) in a two-way tie for eighth and Ross (73-80=153) all alone in 10th place.

Mitzel (83-75=158) closed out the two-day event in a four-way tie for 19th place, while Joey Horowitz (Fr., Scottsdale, AZ/Chaparral HS), who was playing as an individual for Willamette, posted a three-way tie for 25th place with a 36-hole score of 17-over 161 (80-81).

Fuller rounded out the Bearcats' competitors in a three-way tie for 30th place, as the second-year Bearcat carded a two-round total of 20-over 164 (80-84).

The Top 5 individuals included Baldridge, Kukula, Davis, Wilson, and Lamothe with Lewis & Clark's Dre Groshong (75-75=150), George Fox's Andrew Grove (74-76=150), GFU's Zachary Mode (72-80=152), Rodriguez, and Ross capping the tournament's Top 10 players.

Up next for Willamette is the final tournament of the fall season -- the Northwest Conference Fall Classic -- on Saturday and Sunday, October 25 and 26, at Chehalem Glenn Golf Course in Newberg. Tee times for the event are still to be determined.