By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Host Niles moved back into a tie for first place in the Big-16 Conference West Division standings with St. Joseph on Monday.
The Vikings forced a tie atop the division standings by winning the West Division jamboree held at Orchard Hills Country Club.
Niles, led by medalist Ben Landgraf's 37, shot 163 to easily outdistance runner-up St. Joseph, which finished with a 171. Lakeshore was third at 178 with Dowagiac finishing fourth at 188 and Benton Harbor fifth at 279.
By virtue of the win, Niles and St. Joseph are deadlocked with 34 points.
Lakeshore is third with 28 points, while Dowagiac and Benton Harbor round out the standings with 16 and eight points respectively.
Besides Landgraf's score, the Vikings got a 42 from Matt Molnar, Josh Flock and Scott Majerek. Andy Hoyt shot 43 and Daren Martin 52.
The Vikings and the rest of the West Division team will meet at The Oaks in St. Joseph Monday afternoon for the final division meet of the season.
Niles travels to Brookwood Wednesday afternoon for a dual match with Buchanan at 3:30 p.m.
The Niles junior varsity golf team finished third at The Oaks Monday afternoon.
St. Joseph won the West Division meet with 174 and Lakeshore took second with 189. Niles finished third with 216 and Dowagiac came in fourth with 229.
Chris Haas led the Niles junior varsity with 51. Nick Horn and Jordan Hendricks each shot 54. Willie McGraw came in with a 57 and Nick Zechlin shot 69.