Glendale High golfer Russell Caletena shines at Santa Anita Golf Course
ARCADIA — Though the Glendale High boys’ golf team doesn’t have enough players to field a complete lineup, it hasn’t deterred Russell Caletena from showing he may be a key building block for the program’s future.
Just a freshman, Caletena has put together a couple of impressive rounds during the first three Pacific League matches this season.
His latest effort turned out to be his best, as Caletena carded a two-over-par 73 on Thursday to finish sixth overall at Santa Anita Golf Course.
“I’ve been practicing a lot during the week,” Caletena said. “I’ve been working a lot on different things and I think I’ve found my swing.
“I’m happy with that I was able to do today. My swing was on and my putter worked. My short game worked with some good chipping and making some putts.”
Defending league champion Arcadia (17-1, 11-0 in league) won the match on its home course with a 385, while Burroughs (7-13, 5-7) turned in a quality effort to finish second at 416. Crescenta Valley (14-13, 7-5) placed third at 418 and Burbank, which finished second in the first two league matches at De Bell Golf Club, placed fourth at 440 to drop to 13-7, 5-5.
Arcadia’s Vamsi Dameria and William Oetojo each carded 70s to share medalist honors, as the Apaches took four of the top-five sports, with the other going to Pasadena’s Even Davis.
Burroughs bounced back nicely Thursday after finishing fourth in the previous two leagues matches.
The Indians were led by freshman Daniel Kesicbasian, who finished with a 77.
Like Caletena, Kesicbasian said his short game helped him while playing 18 holes on the venue for the first time.
“I hit everything real good,” Kesicbasian said. “I hit a lot of iron shots well.
“My putting was pretty good and my chipping worked for me on a couple of key holes.”
Burroughs received an 81 from Sean White, 82 from Dylan McNeely, 85 from Trink Trivimol and 91 from Patrick Colbert.
While Crescenta Valley took third for the third straight time, the Falcons did have a pair of players crack 80. Adrian Chia finished with a 76 and Paul Park, who shared medalist honors in the previous league match April 11, had a 77.
“I feel OK with the way I’m playing,” Chia said. “I didn’t make a lot of dumb mistakes, but I feel like I could have done better.
“My chipping and putting worked when I needed it to. It saved me on half of the round.”
The Falcons got an 80 from Cody Renfro, 91 from Tanner Bloks and 94 from Joe Hong.
Burbank was led by Brady Dunayer, who shot an 86. It received an 87 from Andy Chung, 88 from Blake Newton, 89 from Austin Tatka and 90 from Roman Verciglio.
“I have no clue what happened,” Burbank Coach Frank Childress said. “It was just one of those days.”
Glendale saw Kent Asano finish with an 83. The Nitros also got a 92 and 93 from Dong Yoo and Sammy Do, respectively.
The next league match will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Brookside Golf Course No. 2 in Pasadena. The league prelims will take place at 12:30 p.m. April 30 at De Bell and the league individual tournament will be held at 1 p.m. May 1 at a site to be determined.
