As boys golf nears the halfway point of the season, we thought we’d take the time to offer up our thoughts on who has shown the most promise and what to expect the rest of the way in the North Coast Section.
TEAM TO BEAT: FOOTHILL
The defending North Coast Section Division I champion Falcons are basically a runaway freight train at this point.
Fueled by an incredibly deep and consistent roster, Foothill opened its season by winning two of its three tournaments “” Marin Catholic’s Wildcat Invitational and Liberty’s Aiello Invitational “” and going 6-0 over its first stretch of dual matches. The won tournament Foothill didn’t win, the De La Salle Invitational, it came in second and was still the top Northern California team in the field. The Falcons’ five-man score of 390 at Diablo County Club was only bested by the 380 of Santa Margarita-Rancho Santa Margarita.
Foothill didn’t lose its first dual match until it traveled out of the section to face Central Coast Section power Robert Louis Stevenson-Pebble Beach at Spyglass Hill on March 26. RLS won the match 193-197. Just four days earlier, though, the Falcons put on a clinic in their first showdown with fellow East Bay Athletic League power (and defending NorCal champs) De La Salle. Travis Rowney, Brett Thawley and Nico Galletti all shot 1-under par 34’s at Diablo Country Club as the Falcons actually finshed 1-under par as a team with a 174 to win eight strokes.
Other standouts for the Falcons include Roshan Chekuri and Tanner Hughes. Chekuri was the medalist for Foothill at the Wildcat Invitational.
SLEEPER TEAM: SAN RAMON VALLEY
We know we’re not going too far out on a limb picking a team from the loaded EBAL, but the Wolves don’t get nearly the kind of hype that Foothill and San Ramon Valley get.
However, with the Blick Brothers “” Cody and Connor “” leading the way, this team has a chance to make some noise and post some low numbers in the postseason.
To see how close the Wolves are to breaking through, one just needs to look at the De La Salle Invitational results where they finished with a 410, just one stroke off the pace of the host Spartans to finish fourth.
Johnny Metz and Chris Parkinson combine with the Blicks to make a pretty consistent foursome.
INDIVIDUAL TO BEAT: WILL BRUECKNER, ACALANES
The Dons’ sophomore sensation has done nothing but deliver on his own hype since the moment he took a tee box for Acalanes.
Brueckner is the defending NCS champion after fighting through damp conditions at Contra Costa Country Club in Pleasant Hill to win by a stroke last season “” as a frehsman.
He made the realization that he was spending too much of his time scrambling and really went to work on his short game during the summer. He’s been lights out so far in 2012, winning medalist honors at the De La Salle Invitational with a 69.
Five more individuals to keep an eye on
1. Justin Pagila, De La Salle
2. Brandon Dizon, San Leandro
3. Jaskaran Sihota, Deer Valley
4. Travis Cullimore, Las Lomas
5. Jon Shaw, Redwood-Larkspur
“” Chace Bryson
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