Falcons ring De Bell
Although De Bell Municipal Golf Course is the home venue for the Burroughs, Burbank and Bellarmine-Jefferson boys’ golf teams, Crescenta Valley is making the links its home away from home.
Despite playing on the course only a few times a year, the Falcons have had their share of success recently at De Bell.
Crescenta Valley made itself right at home on the course Wednesday, capturing the team championship at the 45th installment of the De Bell Golf Course High School Invitational.
The Falcons bested the field of 16 schools, winning with a team total of 298. La Cañada (305) placed second and St. Francis (306) was third.
“This is the lowest score we have had in the tournament since I have been a coach at CV,” said John Pehar, whose team won the second Pacific League match Feb. 23 at De Bell. “This is also the lowest score in the tournament over the last 10 years. So, this is a great win for us.”
Crescenta Valley has a record of success in the tourney, winning three titles from 2000-04.
The Falcons were paced by Dominic Lingua, who fired an even-par 71 to place second in the A Flight.
“This is just a very good group of guys,” Pehar said. “They are extremely competitive and they are constantly pushing each other to get better.”
Fielding two teams, the Falcons’ Kory Barkley shot a 72, Justin Yu had a 73, Josh Ward had a 76, Michael Timpson had an 81 and Kevin Barkley had an 83.
The A Flight was won by La Cañada’s Mike Perry, who shot an even-par 70. Perry fired a 34 on the front nine and a 36 on the back nine to earn the tournament’s top individual honor.
“Actually, there were a couple of short putts that I missed [Wednesday],” he said. “But I was hitting the ball pretty well and I was happy with the way that I played.”
St. Francis’ Vincent Korth placed third in the A Flight with a 72.
The other Golden Knights scorers were Richie Maloof (75), Pat Degnan (78) and Chris Campbell (81).
One of only a few girls to compete in the event, Tammy Panich of Glendale had a fine showing, firing a 71 to win the B Flight.
Although none of the host schools placed among the leaders in the team competition, Burroughs did receive a solid performance from Josh Bailey, who shot a 77 to place first in the C Flight.
