Monday brought the end of the regular season for local girls golf, with schools coming together at the Central California Athletic League and Trans-Valley League end-of-season tournaments.
The Bulldogs of Turlock High maintained their dominance in the CCAL, carding a team score of 440 at the Creekside course in Modesto to clinch their fourth consecutive conference crown. The Pitman program finished as a runner-up with a 515. Over at the Micke Grove Golf Links in Lodi, the Hilmar squad swung a 387 to claim the TVL title by 26 strokes over Escalon.
Turlock’s dominance continues
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an 11-0 record and have now won 21 league championships out of the 26 years since the inception of the Turlock girls golf program in 1999.
Savannah Van Gaalen led the way this time around, earning the individual CCAL title with a 70 — two strokes under par. It was just the latest in what has been a dominant stretch for the senior, as she is now 13-under par for the team’s last six matches.
“Savannah has been on a tear,” said head coach Mary Krupka, who will be retiring after a coaching and teaching career of more than 25 years. “This girl hits the ball a mile, and most of the time, she can dial things back and use her finesse and golf intelligence to save herself when in trouble.”
Turlock’s other two seniors, Reece Benjamin and Kate Harrington, had the next best scores for the Bulldogs with an 86 and 90, respectively. Rounding out the team’s scoring was Brianna Cuenca’s 96, Frankie Ronveaux’s 98 and Serene Klair’s 111.
Cuenca, a freshman, had a 24-stroke improvement from her first round of 18 that she played during the summer, one of the biggest jumps of the group. Krupka expects her to continue her ascension in the postseason.
‘Jackets take the TVL
A 1-2 finish from Lilly Garza and Angelina Cruz helped Hilmar’s golf program post a team score of 387 to capture the 2024 TVL title at their end-of-year tournament. The result gives the Yellowjackets an 11-1 finish in the regular season.
Garza shot an 85 while Cruz carded a 91. Escalon’s Elizabeth Allan rounded out the top three with a 92, while Hilmar’s Valerie Quaid finished two strokes behind for fourth place.
Garza was given the nod of league Most Valuable Player, while Quaid was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player following the tournament.
On the scorecards, Quaid was followed by Hughson’s Madden Nobles and her score of 98.
Also contributing to Hilmar’s win Monday was Malia Arteaga, Grace Vitorino and Hannah Van Dewark. Arteaga shot 117, good for 21st place. Vitorino’s score of 124 tied Sonora’s Kailey Wheeler for 26th place. Van Dewark, meanwhile, tied with Orestimba’s Andrea Arredondo for 32nd position with matching scores of 138.
Pitman’s rise to runner-up
Though the Pride of Pitman High could not overcome the Bulldogs and clinch a league championship, their second-place score of 515 was good enough to punch a ticket to the playoffs.
Though they similarly finished runner-up to Turlock at last month’s CCAL midseason tournament, Monday marked a significant step forward for this year’s Pitman lineup, led by head coach Jen Oleson.
At that late September tournament, the Pride shot a combined score of 560, which means this week’s score was an improvement of a whopping 45 strokes.
A large part of that was the play of sophomore Clarissa Vallejo, who personally improved by 19 strokes in a month’s time to be the only member of her team to break 100. Her score of 87 was a team-best on Monday, placing right along Turlock’s stellar seniors.
Kilynn Vasquez posted the second-best score for the Pride with a 2012. Not far behind was Paige Jajko with a 104. Amaya Singh followed with a 109. Emma Norenberg and Lexi Jeans shot 113 and 118, respectively,
Divisionals on deck
The Turlock and Pitman teams will each be playing in the Division 2 tournament this year, which will take place at the River Oaks Golf Club in Nicolaus, a par-71 course set near the Feather River. It will be a 10 a.m. shotgun start.
As for Hilmar, they’ll compete in the Division 5 Tournament at the Peach Tree Country Club in Marysville. As the name alludes, the par-72 course is known for its green landscape, well-kept fairways and abundance of trees. This tournament will have an 11:30 a.m. shotgun start.
