Lady Eagles cinch up second straight IVL golf title
EL CENTRO — After last year, the Southwest girls’ golf team had one (Imperial Valley League title) for the money. Now they’ve got two for the show (only time will tell if they can make it three to get ready in 2020).
The Lady Eagles secured an undefeated (100) season for themselves on Thursday, holding off second-place Palo Verde (8-2) by a collective score of 252 to 265 in their final match of the season at Blythe Municipal Golf Course.
Following the Eagles and Yellowjackets in the standings are Central Union’s Spartans (5-5), Brawley Union’s Wildcats (4-6), Imperial’s Tigers (2-8) and Holtville’s Vikings (1-9).
Imperial’s relatively poor finish represents quite a tail-off from recent years, as they had banked three league titles in a row from 2015 to 2017 and finished a competitive second place in 2018. The Tigers slide has corresponded to a diminishing number of Preeces. They’re down to just one — junior Demi Preece — after years of fielding three.
Southwest’s success has been a top-to-bottom team effort. They don’t have any lights-out individual stars, but they did have three IVL first or second teamers — Lexi Earle, Kayla Howard and Raquel Bernal — the most of any school.
Individually, Vincent Memorial soloist Jimenna Ramirez finished as the league’s best golfer by shot differential for the third year in a row, with Preece and Holtville’s Rachel Chambers rounding out the top three.
Despite Ramirez’s regular-season dominance, she doesn’t have a perfect record in the IVL individual championships. Last year she lost to Raegan Preece by one stroke in a thrilling playoff finish.
She — along with the rest of the All-IVLers, plus two at-large bids per team — will get a chance to set the record straight on Tuesday, when this year’s championships are held at Las Barrancas Golf Club in Yuma.
The complete All-IVL first and second teams are listed below: