RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 25, 2022) – Virginia Union claimed the inaugural River City Collegiate Classic presented by Truist, holding off Livingstone College by 10 strokes at historic Belmont Golf Course on Tuesday. The Panthers were led by medalist Alkin Barkley, who finished four shots clear of the field at 3-over par total.
After playing the same yardages and layout as the PGA TOUR Champions did during the Dominion Energy Charity Classic at the Country Club of Virginia in Monday’s first round, competitors tackled the restored Belmont layout on Tuesday. In 2021, Belmont was reopened after a restoration and reimagination brought back 10 of the original 12 greens complexes to A.W. Tillinghast’s 1917 design. Student-athletes competed on holes 1-12 of the championship course, with holes 1-6 replayed to build a 6,865-yard, par-72 course.
Barkley paced Virginia Union, posting a 3-over par 75 in the final round. After an even-par 72 at CCV put him atop the leaderboard by four shots, Barkley was in control of the leaderboard throughout the day. The graduate student picked up key birdies on the 9th and 12th holes before his fourth birdie of the day came on the par-5 16th, allowing him to cruise to a 4-shot win over teammate Hayden Garcia.
Garcia matched Barkley’s 75, as the duo tied with Livingstone College’s Christopher Baguma for low round of the day. Led by Barkley (72-75) and Garcia (76-75), VUU was eight shots better than Livingstone on the day, enabling the Panthers (316-310 – 626) to sit 10 shots clear of the Blue Bears (318-318 – 636) for the tournament.
Ahmad Reedus (82-81) tied for sixth for VUU, putting three Panthers into the top 10 of the field. Livingstone also placed three into the top 10, led by Baguma (80-75) and Xavier Proctor (78-77), who both tied for third. Joel Basalaine (81-84) was part of a four-way tie for ninth.
Virginia State’s Juan Ruiz Patino carded an 84 on Tuesday, taking fifth on the individual leaderboard (76-84), while teammate Michael Ebosh (83-82) was part of the quartet in ninth.
Playing with just four student-athletes, Winston-Salem State climbed the leaderboard in the second round behind ninth-place efforts from Alex Chenard (87-78) and Jacob Moore (80-85).
Johnson C. Smith was led by sixth-place results from both Isaiah Nickerson (74-89) and Isaiah Trollinger (81-82).
In addition to medalist honors, Barkley collected All-Tournament Team accolades alongside teammate Garcia. Joining the VUU duo on the team were Livingstone’s Baguma and Proctor alongside VSU’s Ruiz Patino.
The team title was the first of the fall season for Virginia Union.
All seven programs at the inaugural River City Collegiate Classic represented historically black colleges and universities from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). The tournament came together as a partnership between First Tee – Greater Richmond, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, and the Country Club of Virginia.
2022 River City Collegiate Classic presented by Truist All-Tournament Team
Christopher Baguma, Livingstone College
Alkin Barkley, Virginia Union (medalist)
Hayden Garcia, Virginia Union
Xavier Proctor, Livingston College
Juan Ruiz Patino, Virginia State