Burroughs boys’ golf overcomes wind to win Oakmont Invitational
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GLENDALE — Emilio Huerta wasn’t originally scheduled to participate in the third annual Oakmont Invitational on Monday.
Then a change of plans occurred, paving the way for him to participate, which turned into an impressive performance on a championship-style course.
Huerta, a freshman on the Burroughs High boys’ golf team, received word late last week that he would compete after a teammate had to take a test Monday.
Huerta stepped in and held his own, as he carded a two-over-par 74 to finish in a three-way tie for first and help Burroughs win the event with a 313 at Oakmont Country Club.
Huerta fought off the windy conditions to finish tied with Loyola’s Justin Lee and Vijay Damerla of Arcadia. Burroughs won by nine strokes over Pacific League-rival Arcadia (322). Loyola was third at 323.
“I’m definitely glad I was able to play,” Huerta said. “I felt excited about being able to play, but I was a little nervous in the beginning.
“I’ve played here about five or six times before and it’s a tough course. The wind kept blowing most of the round, but I had to find a way to be consistent. I got pars on my last three holes and I’m glad that we were able to win.”
St. Francis, Crescenta Valley, La Cañada and Burbank were the other local teams to participate in the event, which featured 19 squads and 107 players.
St. Francis had two teams compete, with one squad shooting a 327 for sixth place and the other carding a 344 for ninth. Crescenta Valley had a 369 to tie for 12th with La Cañada and Burbank both scoring 375 to tie for 13th with Harvard-Westlake.
Burroughs, which took second in league last season behind Arcadia, got 77s from Lincoln Melcher and Ryan McGowan and an 85 from Niko Coccio.
St. Francis’ No. 1 team was led by Lake Kim, who had a 79. Henry Fitzhugh notched an 80 for the Golden Knights, who got an 82 from Aiden Lee and an 86 from Andrew Fiori.
The second team for the Golden Knights received 84s from Sean Gates and Chris Geryak, an 85 from Luke McGrath and a 91 from Michael Balian.
“It’s always a hard course to play,” said St. Francis coach Kyle Ostrom, whose team took second in the Mission League last season behind Loyola. “It was a little frustrating today because we just couldn’t find a way to get it consistently in the hole.
“We’ll look to get better. I’m not worried about our scores today.”
Crescenta Valley, which took third in the Pacific League last season, got an 80 from Hank Norman. It also received an 88 from Nate Frink, 92 from Jaden Chung and a 109 from Justin Ortega.
“In all of the times I’ve played here, I’ve never seen the wind blow the way it did today,” Norman said. “The wind just kept blowing the first seven or eight holes and I had to find a way to make some shots. It wasn’t easy.”
La Cañada, which has won 15 consecutive Rio Hondo League championships, was led by Calen Suh with an 88. Also scoring for the Spartans was Daniel Berner with a 90, who was followed by Riley Kinsel at 94 and YJ Park with a 97.
“I just had a bad day,” Suh said. “The wind was hard to deal with.
“It’s great to play a course like Oakmont. A very good experience. We’ll look to get better as a team.”
Burbank got a 79 from JJ Nakao, the defending Pacific League individual champion. The Bulldogs, who were fourth in the Pacific League last season, got a 92 from Frank Maslyk, a 98 from Kevin Kienlen and a 106 from Billy Malipun.
“It was hard because I just seemed to lose my swing halfway through the round,” Nakao said. “I just tried to find a way to keep things positive.”
