Boys’ Golf Preview: La Cañada seeks title defense with familiar face as new coach
The La Cañada High boys’ golf program has a new coach leading the pack this season in an attempt to win a 16th consecutive Rio Hondo League title.
St. Francis High has entered the 2020 campaign looking to ride a wave of momentum and earn a return trip to the postseason.
Flintridge Prep saw veteran coach Bob Loughrie retire after a 34-year run guiding the talented program that featured numerous players who would go on to enjoy respectable college careers.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
LA CAÑADA
The Spartans, who graduated two-time All-Area Player of the Year Andrew Ricci, welcomes 2013 alum and new coach Noah Bernstein, who looks to guide a young team to another league championship and continue the storied tradition of the program.
“I’m really excited to be coaching my alma mater team,” said Bernstein, who is the Spartans’ second coach in as many years. “This is a huge honor for me and I just want to take the program back to where it was when coach [Richard Tetu] had it when we had won 27 out of 29 league titles and we were fairly dominant with a big squad.
“I just want to create the hype around La Cañada golf again and take this opportunity to grow my coaching skills and to grow the program so that it can sustain long-term growth.”
The young team will consist of just one senior in Clyde Toland and one junior in Caleb Suh, whose older sibling, Joshua, was a former All-Area honoree and teammate of Bernstein’s.
“I expect Clyde to really lead by example and put up competitive scores throughout the season,” Bernstein said. “Caleb has a very strong game. He’s a big, strong kid and can hit the ball fairly long, so I expect him, as the season gets going, to really start to put together good scores.”
Of the remaining four athletes in the La Cañada lineup, three are sophomores and one is a freshman.
Sophomores YJ Park, Danny Berner and Riley Kinsel and freshman Nick Tomlinson will join Toland and Suh in hopes of defending the league championship.
“We’re just creating a championship mentality, just building their confidence and working on their skills and letting them explore their games at such a young age,” said Bernstein, who played at College of the Canyons for two years. “To have a team this young is nice for me because this is my first year coaching the team, and I just want to build it up for these next four or five years.”
ST. FRANCIS
It proved to be another impressive season for the Golden Knights, who finished second in the sturdy Mission League behind Loyola before tying for second at the CIF Southern Section Central Division Tournament at Lakewood Country Club.
League foe Loyola won the CIF event with a 369 and St. Francis tied for second with Peninsula at 381. However, Peninsula advanced by virtue of a card-off after its sixth player topped St. Francis sixth scorer.
St. Francis coach Kyle Ostrom said the Golden Knights plan to learn from last season’s experience.
“We came so close to advancing and we’re hungry to make that happen this season,” Ostrom said. “We know the Mission League will be tough again and there’s always a lot of talent there.
“We have a lot of talent and it might be the most amazing team that I’ve had here. We want to go out there and win CIF.”
St. Francis will turn to a pair of seniors to lead the way in Henry Fitzhugh and Lake Kim. Fitzhugh and Kim plan to attend UC Irvine and The United States Military Academy at West Point, respectively, in the fall.
They will be joined by juniors Aidan Lee, Colin Stolpe and Andrew Fiori.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
For the first time since 1986, Flintridge Prep will have a new coach. Ted Bartscherer takes over for Loughrie.
The Rebels appear to be in good hands following Loughrie’s departure, something Bartscherer noted.
“Bob is a well-respected coach and a friend of mine,” Bartscherer said. “Bob has certainly made the transition easier for me by helping me with every detail.
“We’re excited to get going and we have quite a bit of talent here. I want to teach them how to be good golfers and help them conduct themselves the right way on the course.”
Flintridge Prep, which finished third in the Prep League last season, will rely on sophomore Marcus Chen and freshmen Alex Oh and Gabi Barga.