PALM DESERT, Calif. — Max Thomas tied for second place at Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate to record the highest finish of his collegiate career on Wednesday at Classic Club. Thomas finished the tournament with a total of 68-71-68-207. The Hornet men placed sixth overall at 279-283-294-856.
 
Thomas was close to error free during the round, with his lone bogey coming on his fourth hole. He responded with a birdie on the par-3 sixth and then parred the next six holes. Thomas' big move of the day came with birdies on Nos. 13-15 and a fourth on No. 18 to get him to 4-under on the day. His 54-hole total beat his previous best by two strokes.
 
Gabriel Smith ranked second on the team in the round and overall as he tied for 31^st place. Smith was 1-over on Wednesday and finished at 71-71-73-215. He played the front nine even with a bogey on No. 5 and a birdie on the par-4 ninth. His back nine started with a double bogey and he picked up a stroke with a birdie on the par-5 14^th.
 
Jai Bahl shot 74 and Mason Benbrook 79 to complete the team total. Bahl had four birdies, three bogeys and a triple bogey in his round. Benbrook's round was comprised of four birdies, seven bogeys and two doubles.
 
Colorado went wire-to-wire to win the team title. The 46^th-ranked Buffs finished at 34-under and were 12 strokes clear of Maryland who was second.
 
Emil Riegger of Maryland was 5-under during the third round and birdied his final hole to win the individual title by one stroke.
 
Sacramento State will next compete at the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno, Calif., on Mar. 2-3.
 
WYOMING DESERT INTERCOLLEGIATE
Palm Desert, Calif. | Classic Club
Par 72 | 7,305 Yards
 
Team Standings
1. Colorado 276-271-283-830
2. Maryland 280-286-276-842
3. California Baptist 286-279-280-845
4. Oral Roberts 283-284-285-852
5. Omaha 285-287-283-855
6. Sacramento State 279-283-294-856
7. Wyoming 281-282-295-858
8. Utah Tech 286-283-294-864
9. SeattleU 286-292-287-865
10. Drake 285-291-290-866
T11. East Texas A&M 285-290-292-868
T11. UC Santa Barbara 291-288-289-868
13. Cal Poly 287-291-292-870
T14. UC Irvine 289-294-299-882
T14. Hawaii 295-288-299-882
16. Cal State Fullerton 299-290-296-885
T17. Southern Utah 300-289-302-891
T17. UC Riverside 295-303-290-891
19. Eastern Washington 294-292-307-893
20. CSUN 290-302-307-899
21. Northern Iowa 306-300-301-907
22. Valparaiso 294-309-309-912
23. College of the Desert 306-309-299-914
 
Individual Top Five
1. Emil Riegger, MARY, 70-69-67-206
T2. Max Thomas, SAC, 68-71-68-207
T2. Jackson Rivera, COLO, 69-67-71-207
T2. Brandon Knight, COLO, 70-68-69-207
T5. Spencer Clatt, UNO, 67-73-68-208
T5. Ben Gratzi, ORU, 71-69-68-208
T5. Kurtis Rodriguez, CBU, 71-70-67-208
T5. Griffin Barke, MARY, 69-73-66-208
 
Sacramento State Scores
T2. Max Thomas 68-71-68-207
T31. Gabriel Smith 71-71-73-215
T31. Jai Bahl 70-73-74-217
T52. Zachary Matzke 71-68-80-219
T68. Mason Benbrook 70-73-79-222