Burbank High golf takes second in Pacific League

BURBANK — All four area boys’ golf teams had something at stake Tuesday leading into the Pacific League prelims at De Bell Golf Club.

Each team looked to send at least one athlete to the league’s individual tournament. Three of the squads aimed to clinch spots in the CIF Southern Section Northern Team Divisional.

Each left De Bell pleased, as Burbank, Crescenta Valley and Burroughs qualified for the playoffs and nine area players moved on to Wednesday’s individual final, which will also include a pair of Glendale athletes.

Burbank finished second in Tuesday’s competition with a 406 to grab second place in league behind powerhouse Arcadia, which finished with a 373. Crescenta Valley registered a 411 to finish third in the match and in league. Burroughs registered a 420 on Tuesday for fourth in league.

The CIF Southern Section Northern Team Divisional will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai.

Burbank (16-8, 11-8 in league) received a three-over-par 74 from Andy Chung, 76 from Brady Dunayer, 81 from Jason Apinchapong, 86 from Blake Newton and 89 from Grant Le. Chung, Dunayer and Jason Tatka will take part in the individual tournament, which will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at De Bell. Tatka qualified based on earlier performances, as his round Tuesday was thrown out.

“I was able to hit 17 greens in regulation and I knew I needed a good round to keep it going,” Dunayer said.

Burbank Coach Frank Childress said the Bulldogs exceeded expectations.

“It was unexpected to finish second,” Childress said. “I’m happy with the way we have shot most of the year and we are excited to be moving on.”

Crescenta Valley (17-16, 10-8) was led by Paul Park, who fired a 76.

Park said he’s showing signs of improvement during the last couple of weeks.

“I like where I’m at,” Park said. “I was happy with my round early and then it got a little shaky toward the end because I was tired and made some mistakes.

“You have to set yourself up to play smart on this course.”

The Falcons received an 80 from Adrian Chia, 84 from AJ Roa, 85 from Cody Renfro and 86 from Raphael Shin. Park, Renfro and Chia qualified for the individual final.

Crescenta Valley Coach Lee Pope said the Falcons sought a top-three finish in league.

“We got it and we had a shot at second for a while,” Pope said. “We got better as the season went along.”

Burroughs (7-19, 5-13) got a 79 from Daniel Kesicbasian, who was the lone Indian to advance to the individual final. Also scoring for the Indians were Sivakorn Losakul (74), Konner Fairman (82), Dylan McNeely (86) and Patrick Colvert (99).

“My putting saved me,” Kesicbasian said. “I had to stay focused and hit each ball cleanly.”

Glendale, which doesn’t have enough players to field a lineup, saw Russell Caletena and Sammy Do advance to the individual final.

Do and Dong Yoo led the Nitros with 80s. Russell Caletena finished with an 83 for Glendale, which got an 87 from Kent Asano.

“I couldn’t get anything going on the front nine, but then things turned around for me on the back nine,” Caletena said. “I want to come back [Wednesday] focused.”

Jonathan Lai and Kevin Chen of Arcadia (23-1, 17-0) shots 73s to share medalist honors. The Apaches got a 74 from William Oetojo, 76 from Showta Moriyama and 77 from Vamsi Damerla. Lai, Bryan Shin, Chen, Oetojo, Moriyama and Damerla all qualified for the individual final.

The top six from Wednesday’s 18-hole round will advance to the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament, which will be held May 13.