BRASELTON, Ga. – Call it a pretty good day on the course for Peerada Piddon. Make that a great day.
The Barton sophomore sits atop the leaderboard after the first round at the NJCAA Championship at Chateau Elan Resort Golf Course in Georgia. Piddon shot an even par 71 to lead the field by two strokes.
The Cougars are sitting in 15th place as team. Daytona State currently leads the team chase with a total of 300, 16-over par. That is six stroke better than Seminole State as two Florida schools battle for the top spot.
McLennan and Tyler are well back at 320, tied for third.
The Cougars ended their first day with a 364 – just two strokes out of 14th and 23 strokes clear of 16th.
Piddon started her day on the 10th hole and promptly went to 1-under par with a birdie on the par 4 11th. She bogeyed the 18th to close out her first nine holes of golf even par 35.
Playing the front side Piddon stung together three straight pars before recording a bogey on the 4th to go 1-over par. She immediately got that stroke back with a birdie on the par 4 5th and closed out the round with four straight pars for the even par 71.
“Peerada hit the ball really well,” Coach Doug Kaiser said. “If you can go around and post 14 pars on the scorecard, chances are you are going to shoot a pretty decent score.”
Sadie Dewinton-Davies of Western Texas and Grace St. Germain of Daytona State are second with a 73 and two more players are three back at 74.
After Piddon, the Cougars next four golfers all shot in the 90’s. Makenzie Fabrizius shot 96, Miranda Kern 98 and Lucia Rodriguez Lopez finished at 99. Kendra Jellison shot a 107.
NJCAA Championships
Team Scores
1 Daytona State 300, 2 Seminole State 306, 3 McLennan 320, 3 Tyler 320, 5 Iowa Western 330, 6 Rend Lake 332, 7 Wallace State 334, 8 Redlands 336, 9 Mesa 339, 10 Western Texas 341, 11 Des Moines 343, 12 Spartanburg Methodist 344, 13 Murray State 346, 14 Snead 362, 15 Barton 364, 16 Pima 387, 17 Ancilla 393.

Top 10 Individuals (Par 36-35 — 71)
1 Peerada Piddon - Barton, 36-35 – 71
2 Sadie Dewinton-Davies – West Texas, 36-37 – 73
2 Grace St. Germain – Daytona, 39-34 – 73
4 Jiwon Jeon – Daytona, 39-35 – 74
4 Roanne Tomlinson – Seminole, 40-34 – 74
6 Sean Ersoy – Iowa Western, 37-38 – 75
6 Mathilda Bertoul – Tyler, 38-37 – 75
8 Tuan-Yu Chiang – Seminole, 35-41 – 76
8 Kendall Johnson – Daytona, 38-38 – 76
10 Desiree Hong – Pima, 38-39 – 77
10 Kaye Kwon – Daytona, 38-39 – 77
10 Kayla Poff – Seminole, 39-38 — 77

15 Barton (364)
1 Peerada Piddon, 36-35 — 71
95 Mackenzie Fabrizius, 46-50 — 96
100 Miranda Kern, 49-49 — 98
101 Lucia Rodriguez-Zapico, 45-54 — 99
112 Kendra Jellison, 50-57 — 107