Four Zebra individuals qualify for section playoffs

The Lincoln High boys golf team finished third in the Foothill Valley League after shooting 442 in the final 18-hole tournament at Turkey Creek Golf Club Monday."I think we performed well overall as it was a challenging golf course," said Zebra co-head coach Eric Souto. The Fighting Zebras had four scores in the 80s with the low round of 86 by Jack Fidler, who finished tied for fifth out of 35 individuals. The third-place finish means that the team will not qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section Divisional playoffs, however, four individuals have qualified for the tournament next week at The Ridge Golf Course in Auburn. Advancing are Matt Miller, Cameron Kurland, Cade Culpepper and Emilio Ivaldi. Miller also received All-League honors finishing sixth in the FVL."I feel like today could have gone a lot better, but I'm happy that at least four of us made it," Culpepper said. "We just have to get our swings back down for next week." Culpepper shot 88 at the Monday's tournament.Lincoln finishes the season 9-5 overall and 6-4 in league with two third-place finishes in the 18-hole tournaments. The Zebras shot 432 in their first FVL meet at Morgan Creek Golf Club back on April 1.Placer won the FVL after shooting 427 Monday and will join Ponderosa as the two teams making it onto playoffs. Ponderosa shot 429 as a team at Turkey Creek."Any time you can go into any league and win, it makes you happy," said Placer head coach Greg French. "Nobody knew what to expect as it was brand new to everyone."The MVP for the 2019 season is junior Sid Brown of Placer, who tied for first with a score of 76 Monday. "I had some shots out there I could have had back, but we are just looking forward to Section as a team and our goal is to get another championship under our belt," Brown said. "I went through a rough stretch shooting 41 against Lincoln, 42 against Ponderosa at Cameron Park and a 79 in the first 18-hole match. Coming back from those bad rounds to win MVP is very special to me."The other two individuals advancing to playoffs are David O'Looney of Nevada Union and Alex Winters of Oakmont. O'Looney shot 93 and received All-League honors for the season while Winters shot 88 Monday. "This is a better league for us as far as competing," said Oakmont head coach Hillery Smith. "It was nice to play different courses and mix it up a bit as some are flat while others are really hilly. There were all levels of golfers." The others who received All-League honors were: Dominic Crofut, Michael Pearson and Nathan Kionaris of Ponderosa and Josh Lunsford of Placer.The Capital Athletic League, Central California Conference, Monticello Empire League and the Valley Oak League will join the FVL at the tournament this upcoming Monday.