COCKERILL, RUSSO LEAD LIONS TO FIFTH-PLACE FINISH AT LONE STAR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2011 Lone Star Conference Championships
Site: Randolph Oaks Golf Course (Par-72, 7,100 yards) • San Antonio, Texas
Result: A&M-Commerce finishes tied for fifth (27-over, 891) out of 11 teams
Top Finisher: Aaron Cockerill (1-over, 217) finishes tied for 10th individually
Lone Star Conference Championships Final Results
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Texas A&M-Commerce posted another impressive round at the Lone Star Conference Championships, posting a 6-over 294 over the final 18 holes and closes out the 2010 tournament tied for fifth in the team standings with a 27-over 891. The 294 was the lowest of the 54-hole tournament for A&M-Commerce and was the third-lowest round of the season for the Lions.
Aaron Cockerill, who had been atop the A&M-Commerce leaderboard throughout the duration of the championship, remained there, posting a 4-over 75 on the day to bring his 54-hole score to 1-over 217. Cockerill finished tied for 10th in the individual standings, his second top-10 finish of his freshman campaign.
Individually, Chris Leasor came on incredibly strong over the final 18 holes, firing a 3-under 69 on the afternoon. Leasor birdied the first two holes, then recorded seven-straight pars before birdieing the 10th to bring him to three under. He would then go even over the final eight holes to bring his three-day total to 9-over 225, three strokes back of second-place Patrick Russo, who posted a 1-over 73 on the day to finish 16th overall with a 6-over 222.
Matt Loyd posted a 5-over 77 on Wednesday to finish fourth on the Lion scorecard with a combined 13-over 229. John Moug saved his best round for last, posting a 6-over 78 to close out the season with a 25-over 241 for A&M-Commerce.
While the Lions had a great day on the course, so did a handful of other LSC teams as West Texas A&M used an even-par 288 to pull even with the Lions in fifth-place. The duo finished one stroke back of fourth-place Northeastern State (26-over, 890), which used a 2-under 286 to leapfrog both the Lions and Buffaloes into fourth. A&M-Commerce built a comfortable lead on Southwest Oklahoma State (34-over, 898), defeating the Bulldogs by seven strokes.
Central Oklahoma posted a 9-under 279 to capture the Lone Star Conference title, finishing with a 5-under 859 and defeating second-place Cameron (4-over, 868) by nine shots. Abilene Christian finished third, checking in two shots back of Cameron with a 6-over 870.
A&M-Commerce wraps up the 2010-11 season having finished in the top-10 in five of its 10 events during the year, including winning the Crawford-Wade Invitational at Tanglewood in February. All five of the Lion competitors at the Lone Star Conference Championships return next year, giving head coach Louie Bledsoe some optimism heading into the offseason.
2011 Lone Star Conference Championships Results
| T-10 | Aaron Cockerill | 73-69-75=217 | (+1) |
| 16 | Patrick Russo | 75-74-73=222 | (+6) |
| T-24 | Chris Leasor | 82-74-69=225 | (+9) |
| T-32 | Matt Loyd | 74-78-77=229 | (+13) |
| 54 | John Moug | 80-83-78=241 | (+25) |
