Canyon knocks off state champs to win girls golf regional

CHINO - The checks have been filled out and signed for some time now, sitting at the bottom of Coach Jan McKendrick-Harold's briefcase, just waiting to pay for Canyon's trip to the CIF State Championship girls golf tournament.

And the postseason has just barely begun.

Wishful thinking? Or is it just plain overconfidence on her part? A lot of putts have to fall before the Comanches can reach that goal.

But from the looks of it, she just might be preparing for the inevitable. Backed by two low-scoring freshmen, the Comanches did what seemed to be impossible. They beat defending state champion Torrance by three strokes to win the CIF Southern Section Southern Team Regional.

"This is our goal for this date. We have goals set for each date in CIF, and we made the goal that we shot for today," McKendrick-Harold said.

Canyon Jessica Vasilic posted the lowest round of the day, shooting a 6-under 66, and her teammate, Elisabeth Bernabe, also a freshman, carded a 1-under 71 on the Butterfield Course at El Prado to help the Comanches finish in first, posting a 372.

“Beating Torrance is fun,” Vasilic said. “This team is getting better each and every day.”

The Comanches could have finished with two fewer strokes had Lauren Wilson not been assessed a penalty. She was part of the group that included Hannah Lee (Cypress), Elaine Tse (University) and Chae Won Park (Torrance). They mistakenly teed off on the wrong hole before realizing their mistake.

Four teams from the El Prado regional qualified for Monday's CIF team final at Mountain Meadows in Pomona. Torrance, which finished second with 375 strokes, third-place University (397) and San Clemnte (398), which was led by Anna DePalma and her 1-under 71.

Missing from the qualifiers was Cypress, the No. 2 team in the county for most of the season. The Centurions were missing their star, Kristina Nhim. She was in South Bend, Ind., taking a test at Notre Dame, so sophomore Caitie Cayman, the No. 7 golfer on Cypress' roster, stepped into take her place.

Some of the top junior golfers in the nation were in her group. Gulugian, the No. 8 player in the nation in the most recent AJGA rankings, was in Cayman's foursome and she shot a 5-under 67, the second-lowest round of the day behind Vasilic, who also played with Cayman.

Cayman finished with an 88, which Cypress coach Doug Mitchell said is quite a good score for her.

"Look who she had to play with," Mitchell said. "Before we started I told her, 'don't get caught up with what they are doing because you can't do it. Just relax and do what you do.'"

RESULTS:

1. Canyon, 372 (Jessica Vasilic, 66; Elisabeth Bernabe, 71; Raegen Bremer, 75; Lauren Walson, 75; Shyla Walson, 85; Joanne Villaroman, 92);

2. Torrance, 375 (Anne Cheng, 73; Rachelle Chen, 70; Michelle Chen, 75; Chae Won Park, 79; Luciane Lee, 83; Samantha Martin, 78)

3. University 397 (Ani Gulugian, 67; Melissa Wattana, 81; Ivy Baek, 86; Elaine Tse, 78; Alice Hsieh, 90; Rochelle Wong, 85)

4. San Clemente (Anna DePalma, 71; Dani Weatherholt, 81; Carolina Garza, 83; Hanna Stuart, 85; Brooke Crowe, 88; Dawn Chapman, 78)

ALSO

Cypress 411 (Caitie Cayman, 88; Nadine Rivera, 76; Sally Kim, 77; Hannah Lee, 83; Judy Cheng, 87; Allison Hudson, 97)

Corona del Mar (Amanda Johnson, 84; Grace Kim, 82; Tess Crane, 82; Ashley Varner, 85; Hyebin Hong, 91; Caitlin Shinohara, 89)

Valencia (Ashley Baek, 77; Justine Bresnahan,80; Whitney Fernandez, 89; Sarah Park, 85; Erin Rapae, 95; Bernice Chen 91)

Dana Hills 424 (Samantha Sullivan, 82; Christine Caley, 80; Avery French, 87; Kristi Hishihira, 85; Jessica Jorgensen, 90; Kelsey Hargreaves, 97)

Beckman (Kaitlin Park, 76; Tina Kwon, 75; Darlene Ryu, 93; Soo Min Lee, 90; Taylor Rios, 108; Jessica Lee, 97)

Estancia 431 (Ashley Peters, 77; Kim Haycraft, 84; Jeana De Arkal, 87; Frankie Thorpe, 110; Cassie Stevenson, 84; Lissa Morel, 99)

Mission Viejo 443 (Nikki Hanson, 85; Annalise Downey, 80; Brittany Branker, 87; Naya Soeraadiningret, 97; Ashley Hernandez, 107)

Brea Olinda 449 (Dakota Brown, 81; Tiffany Park, 81; Chandler Williams, 91; Brynn Parish, 98; Kelly Wong, 98; Ashley Russell, 105)

Western 507 (Terry Tran, 87; Desiree Dominguez, 88; Wendy Manurung, 104; Andrea Granados, 110; Katherine McGuire, 119; Jordan Meek, 118)