Sophomore Jorge Parada Finishes Runner-Up at 101st Arizona Amateur Championship
PHOENIX ---
Sophomore Jorge Parada of the South Mountain CC men's golf team finished as runner-up at the 101st Arizona Amateur Championship Aug. 18-23 at Seville Golf & Country Club. Kobe Valociek defeated Parada 1-up in the Championship Match after Parada posted a birdie on No. 16 to tie the match. In stroke play, Parada opened with a nine-under 63 that featured 11 birdies. He continued that hot streak in the head-to-head portion of the event, winning on an extra hole in the quarterfinals and a 2-up victory in the semifinals.
Parada and Valociek battled throughout the final, exchanging hole victories on No. 2 and No. 3 before tying the next eight. Valociek sank a birdie on the par-five No. 12 to take the lead, and the duo halved the next three holes before Parada's birdie on No. 16 squared things up again. However, Valociek recorded birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to edge Parada and claim the tournament title.
In stroke play qualifying, Parada shone with that opening-round 63 fueled by those tournament-high 11 birdies. After a one-under 71 in the second round on Aug. 20, Parada earned the No. 12 seed in the match-play portion of the event.
He won his Round of 64 match 6&5 over Daichi Molde and defeated Matthew McDougall 2&1 in the round of 32. Parada posted a 1-up victory over Trey Moore in the Round of 16 and bested Evan Tyree over 19 holes in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Brian Blanchard 2-up in the semifinals on Aug. 22 to advance to the Championship match.
Earlier this summer, Parada won the 2025 Arizona Stroke Play Championship with a final score of -27 (257) on the Padre Course at Camelback Golf Course in Scottsdale, Ariz., from July 10-13. Parada carded rounds of 64, 65, 63, and 65 on the par-71 course to defeat Mesa's Johnnie Clark by three strokes.
In the 2025 spring season, Parada tied for sixth at the NJCAA National Championships at +8 (296) to earn First Team NJCAA All-American honors and was also a 2025 First Team NJCAA Division II Ping All-American. Parada won the Region I Championships at -5 (279) and the CGCC Tournament at -7 (137) and placed second at the TankLogix & Tall City Collegiate at -6 (207).
Several current and former Cougars also competed at the 101st Arizona Amateur Championships. 
Sophomore Jack Taylor tied for 29th at six-under with scores of 71 and 67 in qualifying to earn the 31st seed. He won his Round of 64 match 4&2 over 34th-seeded Colin Pratt and defeated No. 2 seed Cody Massa in 19 holes in the Round of 32. No. 15 seed Nathan Sampson then defeated Taylor 1-up in the Round of 16.
Former Cougar Ethan Klose, a member of the 2022 NJCAA Division II National Championship squad, tied for 52nd at three-under with scores of 71 and 70 in stroke-play qualification. That earned him the No. 54 seed, and he won his Round of 64 match 3&2 over 11th-seeded Nate Jetter.
Klose then played another former Cougar, Gael Quesada, in the Round of 32. Quesada earned the No. 22 seed after tying for 20th at eight-under with scores of 70 and 66 in stroke-play qualification. Quesada won his Round of 64 match in 19 holes over 43rd-seeded Nick Swanson, and he bested Klose in 20 holes in the Round of 32. However, Quesada fell 5&3 to Owen Greenough in the Round of 16.
Finally, former Cougar Brady Clark missed the cut in stroke-play qualification, finishing at one-under with scores of 75 and 68. Clark recently signed to play the 2025-26 season at the University of San Diego.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF AZGOLF.COM