Valencia High School girls’ golfer Eliana Saga, who finished the 2025 season as the Foothill League MVP, qualified for the State Championships, set to be held on Wednesday at the Poppy Hills golf course in Monterey.
Saga becomes the first Valencia High School girls’ golf player to advance to the state championship after the junior finished tied for fourth in the Southern State Regional Championship as she carded a 5-under-par 69.
“There was a point in the round on the back nine where she made double and fell back against the field,” Valencia coach Robert Waters said. “Coming off the green, she looked at me, shook her head and chuckled. It was so good to see her take it in stride at that stressful moment. It clearly did not affect her as she finished the round birdie-par-birdie to get all the strokes back.”
Saga will also be the first local female golfer to be in the competition since Zoe Campos of West Ranch, who won the California Interscholastic Federation state title in 2017.
“This is a special time in VHS golf. We’ve been very fortunate to have some extremely talented and successful players come through this program over the years,” Waters said. “For Eliana to be the first ever to make it to state is a testament to how hard she has worked over the years and how truly talented a player she is.”
Although Saga advanced, her teammate, Kara An, was unable to qualify as she shot an 81 (+7) but still received high praise from her coach for the year that she had.
“She has been playing elite-level golf in the junior amateurs for a while,” Waters said. “I am so happy to see it transfer over to the CIF play this season. To get over that hump and move on as far as she did this season is special.”
Moving forward, the state championship will consist of nine individuals and three teams against the same number from the northern region of California.
And although there is so much excitement and preparation surrounding Saga and the team, Waters states he will have his team grounded and ready for the intense competition Saga will compete against.
“This will be the first time Eliana has seen Poppy Hills, so it will be a great experience for her,” he said. “We’ll control the controllable, stay in that focused but calm mindset and enjoy the day.”
