SPORTS Cardinals finish second in ESL
SHS Anushka Larson falls short of advancing
Strathmore High School’s No. 1, Anushka Larson, missed a return to the CIF Central Section Central Area tournament by two strokes in Tuesday’s East Sequoia League 18-hole championship meet at River Island Country Club.
To qualify for the Area meet, golfers needed to shoot a 95 or better. Larson placed second as an individual with a 97.
Sierra Pacific’s golfers dominated the meet with No. 1 Sam Coons winning the individual ESL championship and the Golden Bears other scoring players sweeping the No. 3 through six spots. The team won the ESL team title with a score of 505 while Lindsay (573) placed second, Strathmore (617) came in third and Granite Hills (636) finished fourth.
Lindsay finished second at all five ESL mini meets this season but the last time the four teams played in an 18-hole meet on Oct. 8, the Cardinals shot 102 strokes higher than the Golden Bears at Kings Country Club in Hanford.
“River Island’s a lot tougher than all the other courses we played at,” LHS head coach Robert Aldaco said. “Just from the first place to second place, the gap is closing so I feel real good about that. That gap has gone from a lot of strokes to very little strokes. So if our girls work hard over the winter and come back next year strong, we’re going to give them a run for their money.”
Scoring for the Cardinals was No. 1 Natalie Felix (109), No. 2 Cayli Carillo (112), No. 3 Melanie See (125), No. 4 Lizeth Garcia (109) and No. 5 Klaryssa Perez (118).
“I’m pretty excited,” Aldaco said. “From the beginning of the year to the end, seen a lot of growth. That’s something to build on for next year. I got two sophomores and five juniors, all of them are coming back. The top two that scored are both sophomores so that looks good for us in the next couple of years.”
Alongside Larson, No. 2 Kylie May (109), No. 3 Sarah Totty (130), No. 4 Halle Knutson (141) and No. 5 Gabby Ceballos (140) all scored for the Spartans. The team’s final score of 617 was 13 strokes better than their Oct. 8 score of 630.
Granite Hills also saw improvement in their 18-hole scores and dropped from 682 to 636 at the championship meet. The Grizzlies scorers were No. 1 Nathalie Saldivar (130), No. 2 Leslie Carranza (116), No. 3 Monaly Lenedrik (139), No. 4 Desly Valle (117) and No. 5 Daisy Huerta (134). Marauders take 3rd at EYL championships
Four of Monache High School girls golfers finished with season best scores as the Marauders placed third at the East Yosemite League 18-hole cham-
ship meet Tuesday at the Tulare Golf Course.
No. 1 Danielle Margosian shot a season-best 98 while first-year golfers No. 3 Judith Cordero (118), No. 4 Kere Martinez (116) and No. 6 Isabel Sutherland (118) also had season-best scores. Also scoring for the Marauders was No. 2 Rachel Clement (109).
Monache placed third in team scores with a 559. Mission Oak (517) placed first followed by Tulare Union (533) in second, Tulare Western (566) in fourth and Porterville (625).
“It would have been nice to finish league in third place instead of fourth, but finishing third in last two tournaments was a very rewarding feeling for the girls,” MHS head coach Jake Winter said. “The team score of 559 is 19 shots lower than two weeks ago when we played Tulare Golf Course. It would have met the qualifying mark of 560 for Division III schools, but we are Division I. Very good season for these girls. They continued to improve from the first match to the last. I'm very proud of all of them.”
Making up Porterville's 625 was No. 1 Angela Eugene (119), No. 2 Aunika Marquez (125), No. 3 Dora Jimenez (126), No. 5 Uniese Carrillo (130) and No. 6 Gemma Gasco (125).
“We shot a low 18 hole round of the year today [with] 625,” PHS head coach David Herrera said. “We have come a long way from the beginning of the season. This team has shown determination and the ability to overcome adversity. This is a young team with everyone coming back next year.”