A busy Monday at regional golf courses ended with two local teams punching their tickets to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters tournament next week at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.
Clinching the top spot and lifting the coveted blue banner at the Section Division 5 tournament at the Peach Tree Country Club in Marysville was the Hilmar team, whose five golfers combined for a 513 score, just five strokes better than runner-up Colfax.
Over at the Division 1 tournament, Turlock settled for the runner-up plaque after the team shot a 426 — 19 strokes behind champion Woodcreek — at the River Oaks Golf Club in Nicolaus.
Also qualifying to the Masters as an individual was Hughson’s Madden Nobles, who had a top-six finish with a score of 97 at the D-5 event.
The 11 girls will have a 9 a.m. shotgun start at Monday’s Masters.
The Yellowjackets, as they have been all year, were led by the duo of Valerie Quaid and Lilly Garza. Quaid, the Trans-Valley League Most Outstanding Player, paced the team with a 94, good for a 3rd place individual finish. Garza, the TVL Most Valuable Player, finished three strokes behind her. Angelina Cruz pitched in by shooting a 100, while Malia Arteaga and Grace Vitorino rounded out the field with 110 and 112 scores, respectively.
As for the Bulldogs, their second-place finish was made possible in part to another strong performance from senior Savannah Van Gaalen, who seems well on her way to a third straight Central California Athletic League MVP award. Van Gaalen’s round of 71 led the team and was good for fourth-place in the individual contest. In front of Van Gaalen was Vista Del Lago’s Abigail Lin, Christian Brothers’ Hannah Stouder and Rio Americano’s Taylor Baker, who tied for first with rounds of 69.
Reece Benjamin’s 81 was the second-best score for the Bulldogs. Frankie Ronveaux and Kate Harrington tied with rounds of 87. Brianna Cuenca shot a 100 while Serene Klair finished her round after 117 strokes.
“Going into this tournament, I knew that Woodcreek was the hot team and that it was going to be tough for us to beat them. I put my sights on second place without knowing who else was in the Divisional Tournament,” admitted Turlock head coach Mary Krupka. “As it turns out ,we beat Rio Americano by four strokes and Vista Del Lago by 13 strokes, which proves that every wasted golf stroke can take you out of contention.
“I am proud of the gals for staying focused and playing for their teammates, not allowing their emotions to get the better of them.”
It was rougher sledding for the Pitman squad, though, who qualified for Monday’s tournament after a runner-up finish to Turlock at last week’s CCAL end-of-year round. The Pride finished seventh overall with a collective score of 521.
Clarissa Vallejo’s round of 93 was the individual low for the girls in green. Paige Jajko shot a 103. One stroke behind her was Kilynn Vasquez. Emma Norenberg shot a 110 and Amaya Singh finished with a 111. Lexi Jeans shot a 116 on the day.
