Wilson Girls’ Golf Team Wins Regional Title

This time, the expectations for the Long Beach Wilson girls’ golf team were tempered.

Perhaps that made the difference.

Wilson shot a five-player total of 397 at the SCGA Golf Course on Monday and won the California Interscholastic Federation-Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. regional championship by 16 shots over Torrey Pines.

Alhambra Keppel shot 417 for third place and the final berth in today’s state finals, to be played at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga. Amber Lundskog of San Diego Scripps Ranch shot six-under-par 66 to win the individual title by two shots over Grace Woo of Burbank.

Angela Park of Torrance shot 70; and Jennifer Osborn of Huntington Beach Marina, Jacqueline Struck of Mission Viejo and Kylie Fuller of Temecula Chaparral each shot 71 to also advance to the state finals.

For Wilson, it was sweet redemption from 2002, when the Bruins entered the playoffs as the top-ranked team in the Southland but finished fifth in the Southern Section finals and did not advance to the regional.

“This makes up for it,” said junior Kimberly Punyasavatsut, who was a freshman on that team. “We were confident that we could make it to the state finals, but we didn’t really expect to win.”

Freshman Brianna Do led the Bruins’ scoring with a 73. Punyasavatsut and junior Patty Chawalitmetha each shot 78. Freshmen Noelle Zavaletta’s 83 and Christine Workman’s 85 rounded out Wilson’s scoring.

Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula, the two-time defending champion and 2003 state champion, missed advancing by three shots. The Panthers had to count a 103 from No. 6 player Laura Lan because No. 5 player Lai Shan Lau was disqualified for improperly playing a ball that was out of bounds. Lau signed for a 95.

-- Peter Yoon

Basketball

Amir Johnson of Westchester, a 6-foot-9 center who missed most of last season when the City Section ruled he was ineligible after transferring from Los Angeles Verbum Dei, has suffered a possible broken foot and will be sidelined indefinitely, Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said.

Johnson, who has signed with Louisville, is the top player on a Westchester team favored to win the City championship and state Division I title.