After the Saugus Centurions took the third-round victory in the Foothill League boys’ golf season, the Valencia Vikings went into Tuesday’s fourth round with the goal to increase their stroke lead and go into the final week of the season with the most momentum possible.
By the end of the fourth round, the Vikings carded a total team score of 378 at the Sand Canyon Country Club with Valencia junior Aidan Chroman ending the day as the medalist with a 71 (-1).
“The boys played great as a team,” Valencia head coach Robert Waters said. “We’ve done a great job thus far and it makes me proud to see the results of our hard work.”
Chroman, who shot 1-under-par in the fourth round, led the way for the Vikings as the junior golfer ended the day with seven birdies across 18 holes, including five in the front nine.
Waters said Chroman has been an ace for the Vikings this season and with the junior’s performance in the fourth round, he’s playing his best golf of the season.
“This was a critical match for him and the team,” Waters said. “For Aidan to put together another round under par is a testament to his work ethic and mental toughness. He had a great dayon the greens, finishing with only 25 putts.”
With Valencia’s total score of 378, the Vikings increased their lead over the second-place Saugus Centurions in the Foothill League team standings and now hold a 47-stroke lead.
The Centurions posted a total team score of 409, with Aidan Lee leading all Saugus golfers with a score of 79 (+7).
As for West Ranch, the Wildcats finished second in the fourth round with a total team score of 395 and remain 51 strokes behind the first-place Valencia.
The Wildcats’ Tyler Sonnenberg, who leads the Foothill League in the individual standings, carded a total score of 72 and remained in first with a 12-stroke lead over second-place Namo Thoontakhob of Valencia.
Thoontakhob carded a 75 (+3) in the fourth round.
As for the rest of the Foothill League, the Canyon Cowboys carded a team score of 431 and finished Tuesday’s contest in fourth.
The Cowboys’ Aydan Huang ended the day with a scorecard result of 79 (+7).
The Golden Valley Grizzlies carded a team score of 434 and finished fifth in Tuesday’s league match.
The Grizzlies’ Tyler Suwansatit led all Golden Valley golfers and turned in a score of 75 (+2).
The Hart Hawks finished sixth in the match with a score of 437 as the Castaic Coyotes ended the day in seventh with a score of 495.
As the Foothill League enters the final week of the boys’ golf season, many teams are gearing up for what will be a tightly contested finish to determine who wins the team and individual Foothill League titles.
For Waters and Valencia, the mission is to finish the year strong and gain as much momentum as possible with the goal to end the year as champions in the Foothill League.
“Our pre-season goal as a team was to be playing our best golf during the second half of league play. We want to gain as much momentum as possible heading into the CIF playoffs,” Waters said. “To this point, we’ve done that. The boys are excited to get back out there next week and continue to improve.”
The Foothill League is scheduled to return for its fifth round of play on Monday with teams set to play at the Knollwood Country Club in Granada Hills with tee time scheduled for noon.
