Burroughs golf’s Arnold takes third at Pacific League match
LA CAÑADA — A little extra time spent on the course during the recent Labor Day weekend appears to have done Raelinn Arnold some good.
Looking to improve her short game, the junior on the Burroughs High girls’ golf team played a round in Los Feliz before taking a lesson at Angeles Golf Club in Sunland to help her prepare for Tuesday’s Pacific League match at La Cañada Country Club.
The additional time seemed to buoy Arnold, who carded a four-over-par 38 to place third Tuesday.
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“My putting wasn’t too good in the first [league] match, so I wanted to fix some things with the short game,” said Arnold, who had an 11-over-par 48 on Sept. 1 at Hansen Dam Golf Course. “The greens were a bit slow today, but I hit the ball at the right speed.
“I didn’t want to have another performance like last week. I had my putts get close to the hole today and I got a lot of confidence after the lesson. I just want to keep it going now.”
Arnold helped Burroughs finish third for the second straight match after the Indians recorded a 228. San Marino, which won the league title last season, took first with a 197 and Arcadia finished second (222). Crescenta Valley placed fourth (247), La Cañada was fifth (250) and Burbank took sixth (262). Ada Wong of San Marino took first with a 36 and Maddie Kang had a 37 for La Cañada, taking second place and the area’s best day.
Burroughs, which took fourth in league last season behind San Marino, Arcadia and Crescenta Valley, received a 41 from Ashley Phelps, 47 from Maddie Riggs, 48 from Annie Adachi and 54 from Samantha Mazo.
Crescenta Valley, under first-year coach Grant Clark, was led by Laura Perez (40). The Falcons also got a 49 from Cathlin Junio, 50 from Emily Redecker, 52 from Gloria Namkung and 56 from Michela Labellarte.
“Right now, we’re just looking for some more consistency,” Clark said. “Right now, we’re up and down. Maybe some of that had to do with the long weekend.
“We need to be a little more competitive and there’s still a lot of time left. We need to start hitting some good shots in the middle of the fairways.”
In addition to Kang’s stellar day, La Cañada also got a 42 from Rachel Oh, 52 from Emma McGuiness, 58 from Grace Mekkekian and 61 from Sydney Lew.
“It was a tough one today, but Maddie had a great effort,” first-year La Cañada Coach Kyle Turner said. “We were short some players, so we had three varsity and three junior varsity players going.
“There just needs to be more commitment. We need to get some more practices in and figure out a way to move up.”
Burbank fielded just four players and saw Amy Tran withdraw on the eighth hole with a headache. Alexis Poche had a 51 for the Bulldogs, who got a 66 from Erin Tanner and 68 from Olga-Marie Davis.
“We just have to find a way to keep improving,” Burbank Coach Branco Sevic said. “We just want to have that match by match.”
The next league match will begin at 1 p.m. Sept. 16 at De Bell Golf Club in Burbank.