College golf: Local grads Ching, Igawa pace Vulcans on Day 2 of championships

Preston Lee-Ching turned in the low round of the day for UH-Hilo with an even-par 72, and the Vulcans put up another 7-over 295 and were in eighth place at the PacWest championships at Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Oahu.

Ching, a Kamehameha graduate, fired in his low round of the season, one day after setting at season-best with a 75.

UHH’s Jared Kinoshita and Taylor Patrick shot a 74 and 75, respectively, and were tied for 18th at 2-over, and Ching was another shot back. Yamaguchi (74) was at 151 and and Braeden Campbell (76) at 154.

The Vulcans were only five shots out of fifth place.

No. 11 ranked BYU-Hawaii, playing in its final PacWest tournament, was 16-under, two shots ahead of Holy Names.

Dixie State’s Nicklaus Britt fired a 63 to take a share of the lead with California Baptist’s Greg Gonzalez at 10-under.

• The UH-Hilo women were seventh out of eight teams after carding a 332, which was 15 strokes better than Monday’s first round.

After opening with a 90, Waiakea graduate Andi Igawa rebounded with a 78 and was tied for 25th along with Erin Costes (82-86) at 24-over.

Mariah Paiste (96-79) was 31-over and Keely Kitamura (91-89) was another five shots back.

Kristeena Locke, who shot an 84 on Monday, couldn’t finish Tuesday’s round after getting injured on the tenth hole.

California Baptist overtook first-round leader Academy of Art for a five-shot advantage, and the Lancers’ Samantha Martinez owned a three-stroke lead at 6-over.