Falcon golfers cap season with 4th place finish in State Championships

The Folsom Lake College men's golf team put the finishing touches on their 2019 season on Monday with a solid fourth place finish in the CCCAA state championship tournament, held at Napa Valley's Silverado Resort.  The 36-hole, one-day tournament is a grueling affair, beginning at 8 am and not concluding until almost 12 hours later.  The fourth place was the Falcons' highest finish in the 10-year history of the FLC golf team, but was disappointing for a team that had a goal of bringing home a trophy. 

"We wanted a top three finish," noted head coach Barry Zarecky.  "To play 36 holes - 768 shots! – and miss a trophy by two strokes, it's just heartbreaking."   Third place team Cypress College – last year's state champions – needed a stellar round by their final player to secure the third place trophy, and he came through with an outstanding round of 72.   After the morning round of 18, College of the Canyons – the eventual team champion – was already 10 strokes ahead of their nearest rival and expanded that lead in the afternoon to win by 18 strokes over runner-up Santa Barbara.  Meanwhile, the Falcons found themselves in a crowded field after 18 holes; five teams were separated by just three strokes for places 2 through 6, with the Falcons tied for fifth with Mt San Antonio and just one stroke behind Cypress.    With five teams all in pursuit of a trophy and no one knowing how the other teams were doing, it was a wild afternoon of emotional swings.  While FLC's "Mr. Consistent", Max Menconi, struggled in the afternoon (he shot 80, only his second round in two years that was not in the 70's), freshman Kaden Ward stepped up to fire a 76.  Sophomore Ethan Serrano had a very solid day – both morning and afternoon – with identical 76's.  Sophomore Krishton Trimp had to limp through the afternoon round after straining a knee ligament in the morning, yet still managed to shoot 77, four strokes better than his morning round.  And sophomore Brandon Kelly, as he's done most of the season, led the team with rounds of 74 & 75 to finish off a fine career at FLC.  Still, the tension at the clubhouse scoreboard was evident as coaches and players alike waited in suspense for the final groups to finish, calculating scores in their heads and on their phones.  Four teams (Cypress, FLC, Reedley, and Mt. SAC) all had legitimate hopes for a trophy.  But when Cypress' final player carded a 72, the suspense was over.

Team scores                       A.M.      P.M.      Total                                                      FLC Individuals                  AM         PM         Total

Canyons                               371         363         734                                                         Brandon Kelly                    74           75           149

Santa Barbara City           381         371         752                                                         Ethan Serrano                   76           76           152

Cypress                                383         383         766                                                         Max Menconi                    75           80           155

Folsom Lake                       384         384         768                                                         Kaden Ward                       79           76           155

Reedley                                381         390         771                                                         Krishton Trimp                   81           77           158

Mt San Antonio                384         389         773                                                         Drew Greco                        80           84           164

San Jose City                      398         390         788

Fresno City                          402         392         794

After finishing third in the NorCal Regional a week ago (behind both Reedley and San Jose), the Falcons were the highest placing NorCal team in the state championship tournament on Monday.