Men’s Golf Captures District Championship; Headed to NJCAA Championship
April 23, 2026
OXFORD - The sixth ranked Shelton State Community College men's golf team shot a 276 to capture the 2026 NJCAA South District 8 Championship at the Cedar Ridge Golf Course.
The Bucs +61 total was nine shots better than second place finisher No. 19 WallaceDothan (+70).
"The team is very excited and wanted to redeem themselves from the conference tournament," head coach Chris Sanford said. "This is a very difficult golf course and we did not play well on Sunday, but came back Monday and played really well."
The team shot 317 (+29) in the first round on Sunday, but bounced back with a 291 (+3) in the second round to vault into first place. They finished with a 317 (+29) in the final round.
"Monday was the difference maker," Sanford said. "We gave ourselves enough cushion to win the tournament on Tuesday. Our guys just gutted it out."
Shelton State won its first district championship and qualified for the NJCAA Golf National Championship for the first time since 2002.
Sanford was named the South District Coach of the Year.
The National Championship will be held May 19-22 at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind.
Shelton State freshman Cooper Layton won the individual championship with a 4-over par 220 score.
Layton won his first tournament as a collegiate golfer.
After shooting a 4-over 76 in the first round, Layton then fired a 4-under 68 in the second round. He shot even par on the front nine, but carded five birdies on the back nine, including straight birdies hole No. 11, No. 12 and No. 13.
He shot 4-over 76 on the final day captured to championship.
Layton finished second at the ACCC Championship on April 6-7 at the Cypress Lake Golf Course in Muscle Shoals.
No. 12 Calhoun (+72), No. 10 Jeff State (+74), and No. 35 LB Wallace (+88) rounded out the Top 5 team scores.
Larson finished 10th with a +15 (231). He carded a 1-over 73 in the second round. He had three birdies on the back to shoot 35.
Freshman Dane Galiano finished 20th overall with a +24 (240) score. He carded a 79 in each of the first two rounds, and finished with an 82 in the final round.
Sophomore Will Norton finished 25th with a +26 (242) score. He shot a 73 in round two, including a 1-under 35 on the back nine. He had four total birdies in round two.
Shelton State won six of its 12 tournaments this season, including five of seven in the spring. The lowest finish at any tournament was second place,
"We've had a really great year," Sanford said. "I am very proud of them. This team really wanted to win."