Above is the Jamestown Community College golf team. From the left are head coach George Sisson, Noah Adams, Trevor Harrington, Josh Brown, Traden Gray, Kyle Smallback and assistant coach Jim Rissel.
Photo courtesy of JCC Athletics
George Sisson says the NJCAA Division III Golf Championship, which will be held this week on the Lake Course at Chautauqua Golf Club, is “like none other.”
“This is the only NJCAA-sponsored championship going on at the time,” said Sisson, the tournament director and Jamestown Community College’s golf coach, “and all eyes will be on our student-athletes as they compete for championship gold.”
For the 22nd time, Chautauqua GC will be the host for the event, which will also be the home for the inaugural NJCAA Division III Women’s Championship.
“We are ecstatic to host the women’s tournament alongside the men’s,” said Sisson. “This will give the women’s golfers in Division III a chance to compete with one another and see who the best is across the country.”
There will be 21 schools with 75 competitors on the men’s side and four schools with six competitors on the women’s side.
Region 3 will be fully represented during the week with seven teams, including Jamestown CC, which is the host.
Leading the way for the Jayhawks is Region 3 All-Region Team member Traden Gray (Frewsburg/Frewsburg). Gray finished sixth overall at the Region 3 Golf Championships three weeks ago with a two-round score of 163, one stroke off from finishing in the top-five.
“I expect Traden to go out and compete at a high level this week,” Sisson said. “This is a four-day tournament, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. He just has to take it hole-by-hole every day. If he does that, he should set himself up to succeed.”
Gray will be joined by teammates Josh Brown (Randolph/Randolph), Noah Adams (Mayville/Chautauqua Lake), and Kyle Smallback (Randolph/Randolph).
“For the rest of the guys, this is the time to go out and have some fun,” Sisson added. “They have worked hard over the last four months and have made vast improvement. I expect them to turn in their best scores of the season this week.”
Returning to the championships are Sandhills CC, last year’s champion, followed by Georgia Military, Minnesota State Tech, Niagara County CC and the College of DuPage.
Action begins on Tuesday at 9 a.m., with groups going off No. 1 and No. 10. The tournament runs through Friday.
