SALINAS — Christopher entered Monday’s Monterey Bay League Finals with a goal to shoot 425 as a team. The Cougars did one better and shot a 424.
Christopher dynamic duo of Tyson Hill and Jaeshawn Hoenck both shot a 79 at the MBL Finals at Salinas Golf and Country Club, helping the team to a fourth place finish in league. Both earned MBL-Gabilan Division Second Team All-League honors.
“The course was pretty short, so I can get there on two (shots) for the par 5s,” Hill said. “I got up and down pretty well for most of the holes.”
Hill and Hoenck’s scores led the team and were seven over par on the par 72 course. Not far behind was R.J. Montez and Jeff Driggs who both shot an 87 and Anthony Salazar who carded a 92. But even though his score was one of the team’s best, Hoenck said he still has room for improvement.
“My short game is always something to work on. I would say my short game and my irons, too—trying to hit greens in regulation,” he said. “79 is a good score, but we probably both could’ve done better.”
Christopher coach Michael Hoshida was happy with his team’s performance—especially Hill and Hoenck’s. While several players complained of difficult conditions due to the greens recently being sanded, his duo of seniors kept their composure and played a smart round of golf, he said.
“I think they were doing very good at thinking through the course and where to position the shots and recovering on the shots that maybe missed the green,” Hoshida said. “That’s the key—if they can continue to do that they’ll do well.”
Both Hill and Hoenck qualified for the Central Coast Section Regional Tournament on Thursday. Salinas got an at-large berth as a team, freeing up two spots for the Cougars golfers. Hoenck will tee off at 8 a.m. on the first tee, while Hoenck will tee off at 8:16 a.m. on the 10th at Rancho Canada West Wednesday.
Gilroy had only four golfers competing at the league finals, resulting in an 11th place finish and no team score. Leading the way for the Mustangs was freshman standout Avery Trevino who carded a 105. It was the largest competition that he had competed in to date.
“It’s pretty exciting to win as a freshman on my team,” Trevino said. “I just went out there to have fun and I ended up playing pretty good.”
Gilroy’s No. 1, Nick Triolo, was nipping at Trevino’s heels, finishing with a 106 on the day. The pair traded off being the low scorer all season which was fueled by friendly competition.
“At first, he was doing really well and so was I—we were battling back and forth,” Triolo said. “I thought that it was really tough competition. Afterwards we became friends and just started joking around about it.”
Also competing for Gilroy was Hector Perez who carded a 123 and Steven Herrera shot a 139.
The Mustangs looked as if they would have a fairytale season, beginning with large registration numbers. But reality quickly set in when they only had the bare minimum of six players to field the team. They were averaging fourth place finishes and even took third in Watsonville on March 18—the team’s highest finish in two seasons. But things came to a screeching halt as grades reduced Gilroy’s squad to four which forced it to card no team score for the final two league matches as well as the finals match.
While this season may not have gone as planned, the future does look bright for the Mustangs as Trevino and Triolo will return next season. Gilroy coach Sam Sauer said he hopes this year will serve as inspiration to players like Trevino to come back with a vengeance next season.
“This is the first time that Avery has been in a competition where there was this many individuals—especially individuals that are playing at such a high level. You have Palma here that’s shooting under par, San Benito that’s shooting under par,” Sauer said. “I think that’s sending him into the offseason with a burst of energy. I think if he works hard this summer and during the offseason, he can work his way up and be No.1 next year.”
Palma finished first in the league finals match with a 372 team score, followed by Salinas with 387 and Hollister in third with a 397. Monte Vista Christian was fifth at 456, Monterey was sixth at 464 and North Monterey County finished seventh at 474. North Salinas was eighth with a 495, while Alvarez was ninth carding a 513. Alisal took tenth at 606 and Watsonville, like Gilroy, did not record a team score.
Cory Watt was the medalist, shooting three under par to score a 69.
