American Heritage secures 2A top seed

Clanton, Jimenez, Filler, Holden among local golfers earning way to state tourney

After falling to Ponte Vedra in the Class 2A state championship last season, the American Heritage boys golf team will get an opportunity at redemption as they placed first in the Class 2A Region 4 tournament to secure them the top-seed in Class 2A state qualifying on Monday at the Savannahs in Merritt Island.

Luke Clanton paced the Patriots’ boys team to the No. 1 seed in state qualifying with a 68 in Merritt Island to top Archbishop McCarthy’s Kade Cannon by two shots. Clanton’s teammates Jude Kim and Leo Herrera were tied for third with 71s and another Patriot, Jonny Mourin, shot a 74.

Clanton, a member of the 2018 Sun Sentinel Broward boys first team, won the individual district, regional and Class 2A state championship last season.

Behind Cannon’s second-place finish in regionals, Archbishop McCarthy was slated as the No. 6 team in the Class 2A boys qualifiers.

North Broward Prep received an at-large bid for the Class 2A boys state qualifier and earned the No. 12 seed by placing fifth in regionals. Sean Richards led the way for the Eagles as he scored 74. Dreyfoos’ Jared Civin was also a 2A individual qualifier with his 73.

On the girls side of Region 4-2A, Archbishop McCarthy’s Natalia Jimenez blew away the field with a 69, with her nextclosest pursuer in Pembroke Pines.

Meanwhile, American Heritage, powered by Kelly Shanahan (74), Alessandra Tabora (75) and Ketherine Schaefer (75), grabbed the top girls 2A seed.

Meanwhile, McCarthy’s Jennifer

Lilly also threw up an impressive 74 and the Mavericks grabbed the No. 3 seed in the girls side of the state 2A tourney, to be played Nov. 5-6 at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills.

Cardinals Gibbons also qualified for the Class 2A state finals by securing the No. 13 seed.

Maisie Filler led the Oxbridge Academy girls golf team to a first-place finish in the Region 4-1A tournament on Monday at Eagle Trace in Coral Springs by scoring a blazing 68, outdistancing the runner-up by five shots. Filler, the Sun Sentinel’s 2017 and 2018 Palm Beach girls golfer of the year, helped her team to a school-best thirdplace finish in the state 1A tournament last season.

Oxbridge Academy will enter the Class 1A state championship as the No. 3 seed behind No. 2 seed Lake Mary Prep and No. 1 seed First Academy.

Sagemont and Benjamin rounded out the top three in the 4-1A girls standings as the Lions from Weston had Broward’s best girls 1A scorers with Rachel Gomez logging a 73 and Madyson Gold shot a 75.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers’ Sarah Beqaj, who was a member of Sentinel’s 2017 and 2018 Palm Beach girls golf first team, scored a team-best 77 to place eighth in the individual standings. To enter the Class 1A state tournament, Benjamin will hold the No. 6 seed.

The St. Andrew’s girls received an atlarge bid and an eighth seed in the Class 1A state championship (which runs Nov. 1-2) after the team placed fifth in regionals.

Tyler Stachkunas helped the Oxbridge Academy boys team finish first in the Class 1A Region 4 tournament by scoring a teambest 73. Stachkunas placed third behind Benjamin’s Sebastian Nachilly (72) who led his team to a second-place finish.

Oxbridge Academy (No. 5 seed) and Benjamin (No. 7 seed) both qualified for the

Class 1A state tournament. Sagemont Elijah Zamarron and Pine Crest’s Sam Fruit qualified individually in 1A as each shot 76s.

The Boca Raton boys team finished first in the Class 3A Region 4 standings on Tuesday at the Deer Creek Community Course with Carson Parker (73) and Frankie Harris (73) sharing the top spot in the individual standings.

Spanish River was narrowly edged out by Boca Raton but finished second as Hunter Whiteside led the way with a team-best 75.

For Class 3A boys state qualifiers, Boca Raton earned the No. 2 seed while Spanish River (No. 8) and Palm Beach Gardens (No. 9) secured seeds within the top 10.

Individually in the boys’ 3A, Dwyer’s Stephen Weisman, Western’s David Miller and Cooper City Aejandro Archuleta also advanced to 3A state play on Tuesday and Wednesday in Howey-in-the-Hills.

In 4-3A girls, Coral Glades’ Kayla Holden was dominant at Eagle Trace with her 69 outdistancing the best of the rest of the field by five shots.

Meanwhile, the runner-up, Spanish River’s Sophia Louis (74), and Sharks teammate Kyrsten Shawah (76) led their team to a first-place finish in the girls’ 4-3A and helped them earn the No. 5 seed in the Class 3A girls state championship.

Jupiter claimed the No. 3 seed in state qualifying after placing first in the 2-3A tournament at the West Orange Country Club. Karly Falanga (71) finished tied for first in the individual standings to led the way for Jupiter.

Stoneman Douglas (No. 12 seed) and St. Thomas Aquinas (No. 15 seed) also qualified for the Class 3A girls state championship.

Other 3A state girls individual qualifiers in Palm Beach County were Wellington’s Lauren Davenport (71 in Region 2) and Boca Raton’s Noelle Jensen (85 in Region 4).