No. 1 Bulldogs set sights on 6th straight district crown

PERKINSTON — Top-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast will be trying to book yet another trip to the national championship this week when the Bulldogs play in the NJCAA Gulf District Tournament.

Six MACCC teams will tee it up over 54 holes starting Monday at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia, Miss. The Bulldogs have won the last five region/district tournaments and 14 of the last 15.

"We've been patiently waiting for everything to get going," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "It's a different time of year when you go from playing back-to-back weeks to having two weeks or sometimes more between rounds."

The top six teams from the MACCC Championship will be competing, with the rest of field including No. 7 East Central, No. 8 Jones, Meridian, Northeast Mississippi and East Central. The top three teams plus two individuals qualify for the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship in Joplin, Mo., on May 21-24.

Results this week will be available at https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournament-leaderboard/232541/scoring/team.

"It's a really good golf course, a great layout," Thornton said. "With it being 54 holes, you typically see the better team rise to the top, and we're hoping this week we're that team."

Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep), Jackson Wise (So., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc), Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) and Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) are the five-player team this week, with Kyle Davidson (So., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College) the alternate.

Gulf Coast has won 14 straight tournaments against MACCC competition over the past two years. The Bulldogs won the Warrior Invitational on the same course in the fall by 28 shots.

Thornton hasn't had to dial up anything in practice building up to this event to try to keep the team sharp.

"They're pretty competitive with themselves," he said. "It's nice to know they're still battling it out with each other really with nothing on the line. They're just a competitive group. It's pretty comforting to know they can handle their business."

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.