The California High School varsity girls golf team participated in the Class 1 District 2 Golf Tournament Oct. 2 at Dogwood Hills Golf Resort, Osage, where the Lady Pintos finished in second place as a team to advance to Class 1 Sectionals Monday, Oct. 8, at Eldon Country Club, where senior Ellie Hamilton was just one stroke away from qualifying to compete at the State Golf Championships.
Hamilton finished 20th individually with 96. California's Haley Goans placed 31st with 102; Rylee Glenn, 38th with 114; Becca Hamilton, 46th with 128; and Renee Roberts, 48th with 129.
California finished with 440 as a team, tied for fourth place with Osage. Westminster placed first with 328, and Villa Duchesne placed second with 362 (both advance to the state championshihps).
Previously at the district tourney Oct. 2, Osage finished in first place with 409, followed by California with 424. Russellville finished third with 426. The top two teams and the next top 15 individual finishers at the district tournament advanced to sectionals.
Three Lady Pintos earned All-District honors as each finished at districts in the top 15 individually. Ellie Hamilton placed sixth with 99; Goans finished eighth with 102; and Glenn finished 14th with 110.
"I'm really happy for the girls, especially Ellie, my lone senior, for advancing to sectionals," California Coach Lance Conner said. "The course was extended to slightly over 5000 yards, which is a much longer course than these girls are accustomed to. This favored the home school in Osage. I will give Osage credit for shooting their low score of the year at a crucial time."
California's Becca Hamilton finished the district tourney 19th with 113, while Roberts finished 35th with 125.
"We still have to play smarter golf and manage the course better than we are," Conner said after the district tournament. "We're capable of putting up a really low number, but just cannot avoid the poor swings that tremendously damage our scoring."
The Class 1 State Golf Championships will be held Oct. 15-16 at Meadow Lake Acres Country Club, New Bloomfield.