Golf Team’s Success Is Not No. 1 Priority for Coach

Winning another Southern Section golf championship hasn’t been a major concern for Santa Margarita golf Coach Tim O’Hara.

O’Hara’s wife, Alyssa, who is pregnant with their third child, was hospitalized four weeks ago when her water broke while vacationing in Dallas.

O’Hara said his wife is still hospitalized, but the condition of the baby and Alyssa has stabilized.

“Her due date is May 24,” O’Hara said. “But they may induce labor early.”

With Alyssa hospitalized, O’Hara and his mother, Lenore, and mother-in-law, Audre Balsamo, have kept busy watching O’Hara’s other sons, Sheamus, a first-grader, and Dominic, who is in kindergarten.

“The support we’ve received, the prayers, they’ve been great,” O’Hara said.

On the golf course, Santa Margarita continued its torrid pace, shooting a four-under 176 team total last week in a 26-stroke victory over Newport Harbor on the par-36 Coto de Caza North Course.

“Coming into this year, I had two teams shoot the school-record 177 on that course,” O’Hara said. “We’ve beaten that twice this year.”

The Eagles shot 170 in their season-opener.

“In ’96 when we won the Southern Section title, we shot 177,” O’Hara said. “But right now, this group is playing better than any team we’ve ever had.”

Steve Conway, Ryan Dwight and Dave Hawkins and freshman Taylor Wood are among the four or five players O’Hara has whom he says are capable of shooting par or better.

“But it’s still going to come down to that one day [Southern Section team championships tournament],” O’Hara said. “Hopefully, we’ll be on.”

*

Clint White’s one-under 34 at Willowick last week gave him medalist honors for the fourth consecutive golf match to help Rancho Alamitos defeat La Quinta, 199-221. But White didn’t make the shot of the day.

La Quinta Coach Mel Baty made a double-eagle two on the par-five sixth, holing out his second shot on the 463-yard hole with a six-iron.

*

The Santa Margarita boys’ track and field team enjoyed an eventful week.

Last Tuesday, Santa Margarita, ranked sixth in the county, defeated eighth-ranked El Toro, 84-52, for the first time in a Sea View League meet since the Chargers joined the league.

Thursday’s victory over Corona del Mar, 102.5-31.5, wasn’t historical, just memorable for the chilly, wet conditions that contributed to below-average marks.

“Here we are, running this meet in the first week of April,” Santa Margarita Coach Dave Zeitler said, “and we see snow falling on the Saddleback mountains.”

*

San Clemente’s girls’ track and field team thought it might be in trouble last week with senior Christina Ciampa, the school-record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, not 100% because of an illness.

But the Tritons still managed to defeat Dana Hills, 73-63, thanks in large part to a top-notch performance by freshman sprinter Marquita Taylor. She won the 200 (26.4 seconds) and 100 (12.3). Ciampa finished second in both events.

*

Corona del Mar, the fourth-ranked boys’ volleyball team, could have made plenty of excuses for its 15-4, 15-3, 15-10 loss to second-ranked Newport Harbor last Tuesday.

After all, two of the Sea Kings’ top players, middle blocker Dennis Alshuler and setter Kevin Hansen, joined the team late after they helped the basketball team reach the state playoffs.

“We’ve been together for only [three] weeks but we have to find ways to make up for that lost time,” Corona del Mar Coach Steve Conti said. “We need to make that extra effort in practice.”

Wednesday’s practice did something. Thursday, Corona del Mar defeated top-ranked Santa Margarita, 15-9, 15-10, 15-12.