Middletown golfers close in on league title
The Middletown High School golf team overwhelmed the rest of the field this past Thursday at Hidden Valley Lake Golf and Country Club and inched closer to winning their second consecutive Coastal Mountain Conference South Division title over the past two years. it was the first real spring day in five weeks for the CMC teams as temperatures hovered in the high 70s all day with very little wind. The golfing Mustangs shot a team score of 322 which pencils out to a individual average of 80.5 on the long and difficult Billy Bell design at the south end of Lake County. Middletown upped their league mark to 20-0 and only need to defeat St. Helena in one of the three remaining league matches to clinch their third league title in four years.
Middletown was led by Cooper Johnson who carded a +5 over par 77 on the par 72 track. Dom Williams posted an 80 while Blake Costlow carded an 82 and Bodhi Moore shot an 83. Jackson Conley came in with an 85 for MHS and his score, the fifth best for Middletown High School on Thursday, was good enough to be the low score on any of the other four teams in the CMC South. The only negative for Middletown was that the match at Hidden Valley Lake marked the final time that sophomore Blake Costlow would be able to compete for the Mustangs. Costlow will have season ending knee surgery later in the week.
St. Helena had a full squad this week and turned in a strong effort with a team score of 370. St. Helena was led by the twosome of Micha Meraz Ha and Ethan Peterson, both of whom shot 85s. The Saints are now 12-8 in league play. Technology High School of Rohnert Park carded a team score of 409 to finish a distant third in the five team tournament. Tech was led by Sebastain Maurice who shot a 95. They remain in third place in the CMC South with an 11-9 record. Sonoma Academy shot a team score of 419 to come in fourth place. They were led by Eli Goldberg who shot a 92. Their league record is now 6-14. Kelseyville High School's young squad continues to improve and shot a team score of 429. The golfing Knights were led by Nate Sherman who shot a 102. Adam Astrup was one stroke back at 103. Astrup is a three sport athlete at Kelseyville and was the NCL-1 lineman of the year this past fall in football. He also plays basketball. Ethan Gambill shot 107 and Caleb Lopez added a 117 to the KHS team total. Kelseyville is now 1-19 in league play.
Prior to the start of the week five tournament, Middletown's golf coach Todd Williams hosted a senior recognition ceremony for the seven graduating CMC South golfers. Those honored included Micha Meraz Ha and Ethan Peterson of St. Helena, Sebastian Maurice of Technology, and the Middletown foursome of Cooper Johnson, Chris Klingler, Dom Williams, and Jackson Conley. The most interesting thing that came out of the awards ceremony was that St. Helena's Ethan Peterson and Middletown's Dom Williams will both be attending Clemson University in South Carolina next autumn. They plan on being roommates as freshmen.
The CMC South returns to Hidden Valley Lake for week six of tournament play next Tuesday.