Paul Park shares medalist honors in Pacific League match

BURBANK — In returning to De Bell Golf Club for a Pacific League match Thursday, Paul Park came in with the mindset that he needed a better outing.

The Crescenta Valley High boys’ golfer shot a disappointing 13-over-par 84 in the first match March 14 at the scenic site. Since then, Park went back to the basics in an attempt to refine his overall game.

The extra work paid off Thursday, as Park carded a three-over-par 74 to share medalist accolades in the second league match of the season.

“I’ve done nothing except practice hard since the first outing there,” said Park, who split the honor with Arcadia’s Bryan Shin of Arcadia. “I wanted to go out there and show myself that I could do a whole lot better.

“Things just seemed to work for me this time. I was able to keep myself calm and my short game helped me out. Something like this can raise my confidence.”

Defending league champion Arcadia (13-1, 8-0 in league) won the match with a 385, while improved Burbank (12-4, 5-2) continued its strong play with a second-place finish at 404. Crescenta Valley (12-11, 6-3) placed third at 416 and Burroughs (4-12, 3-6) was fourth with a 420.

Crescenta Valley first-year Coach Lee Pope said Park showed marked improvement Thursday.

“He felt like he owed himself a better outing here and to get a 74 is awesome,” Pope said. “He had a tough time the first time, but he’s been one of our better players and shooting well all year.

“It’s a good bounce back for him and hopefully he can continue moving forward because I think he’s got the capability of challenging some of the top guys in our league.”

Burbank received a 77 from Brady Dunayer and a 78 from Andy Chung. Austin Tatka finished with a 79 for the Bulldogs, who got an 84 from Jason Apinchapong and an 86 from Dylan Cherry.

Burbank Coach Frank Childress said the Bulldogs continue to make strides while also putting themselves in position to advance to the playoffs in May.

“You get three guys in the 70s and that’s a good thing,” Childress said. “We still need a little more consistency, but we are getting there.

“We are trying to get under 400 and we are getting there. I’m hoping we can continue doing better going into the next league match [at 1 p.m. Thursday at Santa Anita Golf Course in Arcadia].”

Crescenta Valley got a 78 from Adrian Chia, an 81 from Cody Renfro, 88 from AJ Roa and 95 from Tanner Bloks.

“We are ecstatic to get third place,” Pope said. “We could have shot a little better, but we are still a work in progress.”

Burroughs, which hosted the match, showed marked improvement. The Indians got 77s from Daniel Kesicbasian and Patrick Colbert.

Those efforts left Burroughs Coach Greg Everhart satisfied.

“I’m very happy with the way we played and getting a couple of guys in the 70s,” Everhart said. “The wheels are in motion and they are showing signs of getting better.

The Indians got 88s from Sean White and Dylan McNeely and a 90 from Tnick Trivimol.

Glendale received an 81 from Sammy Do and an 82 from Russell Caletena.