Led by first-year Matt Hutchins, who had the best day of golf in his collegiate career, Chico State was able to climb out of second place and win with a six-stroke lead and a team score of 852.

After the first day of the three-day long NCAA West/South Central Regional Championships, the Wildcats found themselves in a tie for fifth place. Safe to say that didn’t last long as they destroyed the competition by carding the two lowest scores of the tournament in the next two days.

When Tuesday, May 3 came to a close, they shot a 3-under par and scored a 281 to put them in second place right behind Oklahoma Christian. Wednesday was the final day and the Wildcats had apparently saved the best for last as they shot 5-under and scored a 279 on their way to the win.

Senior All-American Lee Gearhart finished the tournament tied for eighth place with a 1-under par and scored a 212.

Fellow All-American and senior Justin Willes ended the tournament in a tie with teammate Hutchins for 13th while scoring a 214 apiece.

The third of the three All-American Wildcats, senior Alistair Docherty finished in a tie for 17th and scored a 215.

Chico State had all five of its players finish in the top 22. No other team had all their players finish in the top 60.

The Wildcats are one step closer to completing their yearlong goal of winning a national championship on the anniversary of the last time the school won.

After getting their seventh win Wednesday, they tied the record for most wins in a season that was set in 2012. It marks the third straight year that they will be competing in the NCAA Championship Finals and the fifth in the past seven seasons under head coach T.L. Brown.

Chico State looks to end its fairy tale season with a happy ending as they take the green one last time Tuesday, May 17, at the Green Valley Ranch in Denver.

Jason Spies can be reached at [email protected] or @Jason_Spies on Twitter.