Dating back to its first CIF Southern Section championship in 1928, Wilson High has always boasted an outstanding boys golf program. Nothing has changed under eight-year coach Jeffrey Evans, whose teams have extended Wilson’s streak in the Moore League to 15 consecutive championships.
So it means something when Evans has to think long and hard about the question: “Is this your best team?”
“Two years ago, our team went to the state regional,” Evans said recently. “That was a very good team. It’s hard to say how this team will turn out.”
Two years ago, Wilson won a CIF-SS division title and was a runner-up in the CIF-SS championships, earning that trip to the state tournament. Wilson last won a CIF-SS title in 1965, a time when there were no divisional titles to be earned on the way to the CIF finals, so the 2012 Wilson team was special by any measure.
But this team may be special, too.
Wilson returns everyone from last year’s team, which stumbled in CIF play but before that became Evans’ first team to win his prestigious two-day Champions’ Invitational. And the Bruins are off to a great start this year, having already won the Lanny Wadkins Cup against three of the best teams in Texas.
For another, there is plenty of talent capable of competing for individual as well as team titles. Sophomore Hunter Espon and brother Ryder Epson, a senior, are the sons of former three-time Moore League champion Joe Epson (who played for Millikan High) and are among the team’s top players. Fresno State-bound Harold Calubid is the returning Moore League champion and has his sights set on CIF and state honors.
Austin Orkin also has proven early on he has a chance to compete for individual honors. Behind him, Andrew Fernandes, Nick Gregor, Jack Hayes and Andrew Douglas give Evans lots of quality depth in team competition, where the top five scorers count for team honors.
“Individually, several of them have a chance to do something special,” Evans said. “As a team, we have the depth. I’m optimistic. Everyone looks a little better. We should be a formidable team.
“It’s just a matter of playing well on the day the championship is held.”
As talented as the Bruins are, however, there is another compelling reason Wilson has a chance to do something special this year. The Bruins aren’t just a bunch of individuals who happen to play golf on the same course – they take a team approach that could make a difference in the postseason tournaments.
“It’s a unique mix of guys,” Evans said. “There’s talent on this team and there’s team camaraderie. That’s huge in golf. It helps to know your teammates have your back.
“Every team is different in how you treat the players on the course. This team, I’ve found, responds to knowing what everyone else is doing. They thrive under those conditions.”
Naturally, the Bruins all have individual goals. But team goals are important, too.
“My goal is to win league every year,” Hunter Epson said. “Last year Harold played amazing in league so I didn’t win that one, but this is a new year. My goal is to make it to CIF and state individually and hopefully the team, too. I’d like it a lot more if the team was there.”
Calubid can feel a different dynamic in this year’s team.
“I feel like we’ve grown as a team, especially from last year,” he said. “I feel like that’s a good thing. We felt like we could have done more things last year. There wasn’t as much connection between the players, and now with everyone back it’s strong.
“In order for us to play well, we need to bunch up as a team.”
Winning the Lanny Wadkins Cup in Dallas helped.
“That was a great experience,” Ryder Epson said. “There was some tough weather. It was about 40 degrees and the wind was going 20 miles an hour and we hung in there.”
“Texas was a great bonding experience,” Calubid added.
The Bruins have just gotten stronger as the season has gone on. They improved to 10-1 overall and 5-0 halfway through the Moore League after defeating talented Loyola, 192-194, in a match at the Wilshire Country Club on Tuesday in which their top seven all finished within two strokes of each other.
The Bruins will complete a full, schedule before going for CIF honors in May. They will continue to play some of the best teams from the Trinity and Sunset Leagues as well as hosting the 40-school Champions Invitational Friday and Saturday at Terra Lago Golf Course in Indio and then going for the prestigious Knabe Cup on Wednesday at the Lakewood Country Club.
“They’re all aware of what it’s going to take,” Evans said. “This group is pretty tight. They take ownership for what’s happening on the course. …
“They’ll be as prepared as they possibly can be. I want them to have a fun experience playing golf for Wilson. If they achieve something in CIF, all the better.”
Contact the writer: jimthomas@lbregister.com
