La Cañada girls’ golf’s Oh claims ‘W’, Burroughs finishes third

While the girls’ golf team standings in the Pacific League did not change at Tuesday’s fifth league match at Arcadia’s Santa Anita Golf Course, there was a local breakout effort individually.

La Cañada High sophomore Rachel Oh came out a surprise winner, shooting a three-under-par 34 to claim victory on an afternoon where San Marino won again, Arcadia was second and Burroughs held its grip on the final postseason spot by placing third.

Six days earlier, it was La Cañada freshman Maddie Kang who led the way locally by finishing third at Brookside Golf Course with a two-over-39.

On Tuesday, Oh was two spots ahead of San Marino’s Bella Setio and Arcadia’s Annie Kong, who both shot one-under-36 and tied for second.

Oh’s effort was one of two highlights for the Spartans, who bested last week’s fifth-place effort by taking fourth with 218 points, which helped them edge rival Crescenta Valley (222 points).

There was no surprise on top of the team leaderboard as San Marino won its fifth match in as many attempts with 189 points. After Setio, the Titans’ Ada Wong and Cameron McCrary tied for fourth with a score of even-par 37.

Arcadia followed with 199 points, paced by Kong, while Burroughs took third with 216 points.

For Burroughs, it was the fourth time the squad has placed third. That’s particularly good news for Burroughs Coach Greg Everhart, as the league’s top three teams will advance to the postseason.

“We essentially clinched a playoff spot today, but we’re looking for a little more next time,” Everhart said via phone interview. “The next step for us is to get second place. It’s not impossible.”

In the overall league standings, San Marino is 25-0, while Arcadia is 19-6, slightly ahead of Burroughs, which is 16-9. Burroughs is well ahead of fourth-place Crescenta Valley, which is 9-16.

For Burroughs to move into second place, the squad would need to close the three-point gap with Arcadia. The league’s next meet is set for Oct. 7 at Alhambra’s Almansor Golf Course at 1:30 p.m.

Ashley Phelps led the way for Burroughs in tying for 11th with a 41, while Annie Adachi carded a 42, Bella Nava shot a 43 and Maddie Riggs (44) and Katy Kuoppala (46) finished off the scoring.

“I was really impressed with Annie and Bella, who shot their season best,” Everhart said. “Ashley Phelps always shoots our lowest score, so she was great. The best part is I still feel they’re not playing their best.”

After Oh, the Spartans’ Kang and Sydney Lew tied for second on the team with a 44, while Sophie Champ finished with a 46 and Lucille Park carded a 50.

Fifth-place Crescenta Valley had a solid effort from Gloria Namkung, who finished tied for seventh with a two-over-39. Namkung participated in a competitive foursome along with McCrary (37), Burbank’s Amy Tran (41) and Riggs (44).

“It was a great effort today, especially because Gloria has been kind of down on herself lately because she hasn’t been scoring the way she feels she can score,” Crescenta Valley Coach Grant Clark said. “Today, she hung with some higher-level girls, I guess you can say. She had a lot of fun playing with the girls who pushed her.”

Emily Redecker (44), Vienna Bebla (46), Cathlyn Juno (46) and Michela Labellarte (47) were the Falcons’ next four scorers.

As for Burbank, the Bulldogs competed with four players, including Tran.

Alexis Poche was second on her squad with a 46, while Olga-Marie Davis (54) and Erin Tanner (67) followed.