The San Marcos boys golf team fell six shots shy of advancing to the CIF State Championships at the SCGA Southern California High School Championships at Brookside Golf Club in Pasadena on Thursday.
San Marcos finished in a tie with Carlsbad for fourth place with a team score of 382, six shots behind third-place finisher Westlake (376). The top three teams earn spots in the State Championships in Poppy Hills next week.
Torrey Pines won the team title with a 362 and Loyola finished second at 368. The top individual of the tournament was Norman Xiong of Temescal Canyon with a 5-under par 67. The top nine individuals who were not on the top three teams advance to the State Finals.
Sam Metzger and Bennett Reichard each shot 74 to lead San Marcos. Niels Andersen and Chad Visser shot 76, Chris Wong carded an 82 and Andrew Rice finished with an 86 .
“We had an A-plus effort day, but only a B-plus golf game today,” San Marcos coach Aaron Solis said. “We knew we needed to be in the low 370’s to have a chance to move onto state next week, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”
The Royals, however, did gain valuable experience. Andersen is the team’s only senior
“Although we sadly lose Niels, the rest of the team gained valuable experience in this tournament and hopefully we can make it back next season,” said Solis. “I am proud of the boys winning back-to-back Channel League titles, Sam winning the Channel League individuals, winning a CIF-SS title, and making it this far. It has been a very successful season.”
Team scores
Torrey Pines 362
Loyola 368
Westlake 376
San Maros 382
Carlsbad 382
Clovis West 384
Palm Desert 393
Palisades 427
El Camino 478
Bullard 429
