Even though Foothill League play for girls golf ended over two weeks ago, there was still a sense of competition between league champions Valencia and runner-ups West Ranch at the CIF-Southern Section Team Championships on Monday at Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills.
“Of course we want to be better and say we beat you again, but at the same time it being playoffs and knowing we already took the league title, it’s kind of just a fun thing for us,” said Vikings junior Jackie Rendall. “It’s a friendly thing because we’re not only representing our schools but the valley as a whole.”
Both teams, along with Hart, represented the Santa Clarita Valley well at the tournament. The Wildcats came in ninth (442), the Vikings in 11th (451) and the Indians in 13th (483) out of 24 total teams at the event.
Diamond Bar was the top team with a team score of 373, followed by Mater Dei at 387 and Santa Margarita at 391.
“The message for the whole team was to try their best out there and not worry too much about the scores,” said Noelle Song of West Ranch’s approach to the day. “We all had a calm and light-hearted attitude going into this team match.”
Song was the only Foothill League golfer to shoot even-par on the day. Valencia’s Sung Park and Jenny Shin each carded a team-low 11-over and Emma Allen recorded Hart’s lowest score at 15-over.
“There were definitely a lot of players out there that are great golfers,” said Song, a senior. “However, I tried not to think about all of the other players and their scores so I could play a stress-free round. I ended the round with 74 and am proud of my performance for the last team CIF match I will ever play.”
Song will be playing in the CIF-SS Individual Finals on Thursday after qualifying in the CIF-SS Regionals on Oct. 22. The top 28 individuals at the finals will advance to the CIF/SCGA Southern State Regional Championship.
The Wildcat will be the lone girls golfer left from the Foothill League as playoffs continue, but the Vikings are already bracing for next year’s competition.
“Definitely to keep this winning streak going and hopefully to take the league title again next year,” Rendall said of her team’s goals.
