The San Benito boys golf team finished 2nd at the TCAL Finals
Monday, and clinched a berth at next week’s CCS Championships
Carmel Valley
With Nathan Winn, Will Cross and Justin Palmquist competing in their first year as freshmen, and Marcus Synegal simply competing in his first year, the future is bright for the San Benito boys golf team.
On Monday at Carmel Valley’s Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club, the Haybalers finished runner-up to Palma in the Tri-County Athletic League Finals, and sealed the second automatic bid to next week’s Central Coast Section Boys Golf Championships.
“I don’t know the last time we went to CCS,” coach Sal Felice said. “It’s been a while.”
San Benito needed a third-place finish or better to qualify for the CCS tournament as a team, and after they compiled a team score of 405, 18 strokes better than third-place Salinas (423), their fate was certain.
“The positive thing for us is … we’ve got four guys where this is their first year,” Felice said. “But if we’re gonna compete in CCS, we need to get a couple of the guys playing in the 70s.”
With Palma taking the top spot in the TCAL after a 378 Monday, and Chieftain Matt Ogden medaling the round with a 1-under 70, San Benito’s Will Cross led the ‘Balers with a 3-over 73.
Fellow freshman Nathan Winn carded a 78, Justin Palmquist an 84, and Marcus Synegal, Derell Aton and Joey Amaral each finished with an 85 for the CCS-bound ‘Balers.
Amaral perhaps had the strongest back nine for San Benito, though. After carding a 13-over on the first nine holes, Amaral finished his round by going just 1-over. Said Felice, “I was proud of him for hanging in there.”
Additionally, Winn and Cross were each named first team All-League, while Synegal and Palmquist were named second team.
“They’ve all improved since the beginning of the year, so that’s a positive,” Felice said. “And we’ve got all six guys coming back (next year).”
The focus now, though, will be on the CCS Boys Golf Championships, slated for next Monday at the Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel Valley.
“I’ve just go to work with the guys on minimizing mistakes,” Felice said. “You’ve got to really drill that into the guys … Now at CCS, those couple of strokes could mean us going home or us going to Nor Cal.”
Gilroy took fourth at the TCAL Finals with a 437, Everett Alvarez was fifth with a 468 and Alisal rounded out the league competition with a 526.
