By Justin Vigil-Zuniga
Signal Sports Writer
Valencia boys’ golf (12-0) won its second consecutive league match on a windy Tuesday with a score of 386.
Taylor Cotti led the way for the Vikings, finishing -2 with 69 strokes and five birdies. The sophomore registered the first and only under-par mark in league play this season.
“Taylor has been working his tail off, so it sure is rewarding to see the hard work begin to pay off,” said Valencia head coach Robert Waters. “Shooting 2 under par in blustery conditions, on an already challenging course, is quite impressive.”
The Vikings also got nice finishes from Luke Rimkunas with +6 followed by Ethan Cho and Jay Wrage with +7.
West Ranch (9-3) would finish second with a score of 405. Tim Souza had a great day on the course, leading the Cats with a +1 finish.
“I think we have a team that can compete for first place,” said West Ranch head coach Jeff Holen. “Just need to get my seniors Andrew Tuazon and Cody Martzke to play the same way that Tim did on a more consistent basis.”
Tuazon co-medaled in the league opener but had a rough +15 day in the wind.
Hart (9-3) would come in third with a score of 409. Kai Miyata, a co-medalist for the Indians in the league opener, withdrew after the seventh hole due to a sore back.
Hart still got a great finish from Dylan Burcham, who finished +3, a nice mark after finishing +5 in the first league match.
Castaic (2-10) finished just short of Golden Valley (4-8) and fell to sixth again. However, Charles Bailey gave the Coyotes a great mark of +6, a six-stroke improvement from his previous league meet.
Saugus would finish fourth again and the Centurions were led by Sage Marvin with a +10 in his first match back in about a month.
“Having Sage back is amazing. However, more than anything it was wonderful seeing him perform,” said Saugus head coach Rich Gutierrez. “He is not only a fantastic young man, but a dynamite golfer. Seeing him finish strong and completing yesterday’s round with an 81 was awesome.”
Valencia now has some breathing room in the Foothill League standings and will look to keep their consistent play rolling into midseason. Tuesday’s scores shed a nice ray of light on their season.
“Luke has been a very reliable teammate all season for us,” said Waters. “He manages his way around the course well and makes clutch up-and-downs. It was nice to see Jay get back on track and put up a solid number. He’ll be relied upon heavily in the upcoming contests.”
All teams will now have the week off before teeing off for the next two league meets at Sand Canyon Country Club again.
Foothill League golf resumes Tuesday and Wednesday with the first group set to tee off at noon.
