Guzman takes Area title, leads Garces to team crown
| Monday, Oct 27 2008 11:02 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 02:17 PM
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Mica Guzman keeps track of her putt in the south area girls golf tournament at North Kern Golf Course. Guzman won the event.
Deidre Crabtree of Liberty High watches her shot as she competes in the South Area girls golf tournament at North Kern Golf Course. In the background playing in the first group are, from left, Tammy Park, Stockdale High, Mica Guzman, Garces High, and Malea Miller, Frontier High.
Frontier High's Malea Miller chips to the green in the South Area girls golf tournament at North Kern Golf Course.
Lela Steiber handed the reins of Garces' girls golf team to Keith Perkins before the season, but that doesn't mean she's giving up on the postseason ride.
"Those are my babies," said, Steiber, who's now the school's girls athletic director. She added it was the best Garces team since she started the program.
The Rams took their first postseason step Monday in the South Area tournament at Haggerty-North Kern Golf Course. They shot a 420 to easily advance to the section's team finals, which will be Monday at Riverbend Golf Course in Madera.
"This is the team that we've been waiting for," senior Mica Guzman said. "It's my last year, so it's the last chance. And we definitely want to go all the way."
Guzman led the Garces charge, shooting a 3-over-par 75 that nearly included an eagle on No. 18. Guzman hit her second shot on the par 5 to within 10 feet of the pin, then narrowly missed a putt before settling for birdie.
One group behind her, senior Cassie Clayton birdied the first two holes stayed steady despite six bogeys in the nine. She shot 79, tying for second with Liberty's Deidre Crabtree.
Frontier, led by Malea Miller's 82, won the Division II area title with a 433. The Titans, like Garces, got five scores at 90 or better and likely will be a contender for the Division II section crown in Madera.
"I think we're peaking at the right time," Frontier coach Tony Bernardin said. "But I think we can still go a little lower."
Monday's real drama came from the battle for the final Division I spot between Liberty and Stockdale. The Patriots were in the clubhouse with a 479 while Stockdale senior Lauren Williams was the last Mustang on the course. She needed a 110 to tie Liberty and force a sixth-card tiebreaker, which Stockdale would win.
Williams shot exactly 110.
"Golf is an individual sport, but there's where the team aspect comes in," Stockdale coach Shannon Nieblas said. "Our top two scorers don't shoot their best, so you've got to rely on your next four to come through."
The top 15 individuals, regardless of team, advance to the individual section tournament Nov. 10 at The Ranch at RiverLakes -- where Guzman practices nearly every evening.
Except for Crabtree, Golden Valley's Marissa Bishop (who shot 91) and East's Micah Lopez (95), all of the South Area individuals come from the Garces, Frontier and Stockdale.
That leads one to believe the Titans and the Rams have the necessary depth to make a run at a team title next week.
For either school, it would be a historical achievement. Frontier, in its third year, is looking for its first section title, and Garces, which rarely sees a score above 100, is seeking its first D-I crown.
"We're very capable of doing it," Perkins said. "And our girls want it. So we're going to see what happens."
