Mountain View, Los Altos, St. Francis chalk up top records on the links
By Justin BullThe Mountain View High School golf team has proven itself as a powerhouse in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. After going undefeated in regular-season play in 2005, the Spartans managed to duplicate that feat in 2006, finishing with a 12-0 record and two tournament trophies under their belts.
The continued success of the young Mountain View squad came from its depth. Juniors Tyler Ichikawa and Cameron Showeker consistently shot par, and coach Steve Miyano felt that sophomores Spencer Fletcher and Matt Wallach are equally as talented.
After winning both the Los Altos and Aptos tournaments, the Spartans blew through the SCVAL League Championship and the CCS Regional meet, placing first all the way en route to the CCS Finals.
But it was in the finals where Mountain View would first stumble. The favored Spartans finished fourth by six strokes, despite expert play by freshman Adam Ichikawa, who shot a six-under 66 to earn him second place individually.
Mountain View will maintain most of its regional championship team next year, and coach Miyano has no reason to suspect the winning seasons to end any time soon.
“We only lost one senior, Yutaro Sakamoto,” Miyano said. “He was an excellent player, but we should be just as strong next season.”
Los Altos also in the hunt
Los Altos High golfers also had a successful 2006 campaign, finishing in second place with an 8-2-2 record. Senior Charlie Sines helped carry the Eagles, averaging 37 strokes on a nine-hole course. He advanced to the CCS finals at Rancho Canada in Carmel Valley, where he shot a 78 and collected 36th place overall. Sines will golf for West Point next year.The supporting cast of the strong Los Altos team was made up of seniors Alex Cheung and Matt Hennig-Hance, sophomore Andrew Kaneshiro, and freshman up-and-comer Toby The. If the core of the Eagle team remains intact, Los Altos should be able to contend next season.
Lancers take title
In the Western Catholic Athletic Conference, St. Francis swept away most of the competition on its way to another league championship. The Lancers finished 12-1-1 overall, and narrowly defeated second-place Serra by three strokes at the WCAL tournament in Cordevalle.Senior Joe Bramlett shot 10-under par (62), breaking by five strokes the tournament record set by Bellarmine’s Peter Singh.
The Lancers also played well at the CCS finals on May 16. St. Francis finished sixth as a team. Bramlett shot a 69 while Senior Chris Jensen shot a 71. Fellow teammates Sean Nadir, Mike Van Bronkhorst and Erick Runge shot 77, 81, and 85, respectively.
Bramlett will golf for Stanford next year while Jensen will attend school across the Bay at arch-rival UC Berkeley. Both Jensen and Bramlett averaged under-par for their entire varsity careers.
The loss of these stars will definitely hurt the team next year. To defend its title, St. Francis needs to continue to draw in talented scholar-athletes for the approaching school year.
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