Girls’ Golf Qualifier Set for Woodley Course

Girls in the City Section will have the opportunity to qualify for the Southern California Golf Assn. finals at an 18-hole tournament Monday at Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys.

Unlike the Southern Section, which is in its second year of sponsoring a team championship in girls’ golf, the City Section will begin its girls’ team program next year.

Girls who participate on the boys’ teams at their schools are ineligible to participate in the November tournament.

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Valerie Flores of San Pedro, the defending City Section cross-country champion, positioned herself for a run at the Division I state title with her performance last Saturday at the Mt. SAC Invitational in Walnut.

Flores, a senior who placed sixth at the state meet last year, finished third in the Mt. SAC individual sweepstakes race with a time of 17 minutes 33 seconds, the fifth-fastest time of the girls’ meet.

Junior Natalie Stein of North Hollywood, the 1997 City champion who finished eighth at last year’s state meet, finished ninth at Mt. SAC in 18:33.

Senior Henok Mulugeta of Belmont finished 12th in the boys’ team sweepstakes race in 15:31. Belmont began the race as the top-ranked team in the state, but the Sentinels finished fifth.

The City Section cross-country finals will be run Nov. 20 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

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Barbara Fiege, athletic commissioner for the City Section, said the boys’ and girls’ City basketball championship games will be played March 3 at the Great Western Forum.

The championship games were played at the Sports Arena in 1997 and at Pauley Pavilion last season.

The Invitational championship games will be played March 4 at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion.