The varsity boys and girls golf teams competed in the 2A State Championship Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 at the Mission Inn Resort and Club and each team finished as state runner ups.
The boys team found themselves trailing at the end of the first round by a total of 13 strokes to the first place team (Ponte Verda) before making a push in the second round. The Patriots carded a round-best team score of 299 in the final round to make a final push for the championship, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. The boys team would finish the day with a team score of 610, securing them a second place spot to Ponte Verda’s tournament-leading 604 strokes.
After posting an individual score of 147, sophomore Luke Clanton finished in a tie for second and senior Jude Kim tied for eighth with 151 strokes. Senior Leo Herrera also ended the day tied for eleventh with a score of 152.
“It’s kind of difficult to take in the runner up finish after being undefeated,” Clanton said. “I really wanted to win the week; not just for me, but for my [golf] family. I felt like I played ok, but I could have definitely played better that week. I think we all know that we just didn’t have our games that week.”
As for the girls team, the lady patriots faced a similar fate, also finishing as the runner ups in their state tournament. The girls only trailed first place by four strokes at the end of the first round and posted the second best score of the second round with 325. Their total team score of 645, though, earned them second place honors to Archbishop McCarthy, who carded 643.
Sophomore Kelly Shanahan led the way in the individual scores for the girl’s team, finishing in a tie for fourth with 152. Close behind, eighth grader Katherine Schaefer tied for tenth place with 156 strokes and eighth grader Alessandra Tabora tied for sixteenth with 161.
Boys individual results
2nd: Luke Clanton (147)
(Tie) 8th: Jude Kim (151)
(Tie) 11th: Leo Herrera (152)
(Tie) 40th: Jonathan Mourin (163) and Gabe Hegerstrom (163)
Girls individual results
(Tie) 4th: Kelly Shanahan (152)
(Tie) 10th: Katherine Schaefer (156)
(Tie) 16th: Alessandra Tabora (161)
50th: Sophia Rickers (178)
55th: Emma Parker (183)
