Tracy Press

Tracy and West golfers are headed to next week's subsection tournament.

Tracy High had already clinched a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Section South tournament next week, but Tuesday’s San Joaquin Athletic Association tournament gave the undefeated Bulldogs golf team a chance to prepare for another championship round next week at The Reserve at Spanos Park.

That’s where both the SJAA and Tri-City Athletic League had their league tournaments Tuesday and where they will meet again, along with golfers from the Central California Conference and Modesto Metro Conference, on Monday.

Tracy golfer Jake Pineo shot a 7-over-par 79, the low score for the SJAA tournament, and won the SJAA MVP award.

Pineo said the front nine didn’t go well for him as he shot a 7-over-par 43. He followed that up with three birdies on the back nine, which were offset by three bogeys.

But he ended the course right. His tee shot went wide to the left and into the rough on the par-4 18th hole, but he was within a lob wedge shot of the green. Even that would prove to be a tricky shot because of Tuesday’s strong winds and fast greens.

“I couldn’t even see the hole, so I had to aim it at the top of the clubhouse,” he said. “I actually thinned it a little bit, but that’s good, because that green is hard to hold.”

The ball landed near the pin and it held, leaving Pineo a 5-foot putt that he sank for a birdie.

Tracy ended with a team total of 432, including Shane Conner’s 84, Anthony Manguary’s 87, Dallas Lopez’s 89 and Kirk Leopoldo’s 93.

Lincoln High golfers — including Tyler Demetral (82), Joseph Quijano (82), John Presto (88), Robb Post (89) and Greg Bloom (91) — also headed to the subsection tournament with a 432 score. The tie-breaker was the sixth team member’s score, which usually isn’t counted. Tracy’s Joey Sefcik shot a 94, compared with Drake Dutschke’s 101.

In the TCAL tournament, which teed off right behind the SJAA golfers, West High came in third with a team total of 482. First place was St. Mary’s with a 402 team total, and second place went to Tokay with a 469 team total. The St. Mary’s and Tokay teams will both go to next week’s tournament.

Though West doesn’t qualify as a team for Monday’s tournament, it will send three of its golfers to the event. West’s Brett Steele shot 85, the lowest for his team and sixth-lowest for the TCAL tournament, which gained him All-League status.

West’s Daniel Ojeda, who shot 87, and Chris Hernandez, 98, will also go to the subsection tournament.

St. Mary’s dominated Tuesday’s tournament, with all five players winning All-League honors at the end. The Rams’ scores: Danny Garcia 76, Colin Burke 80, Beau Zastrow 82, Frank Esau 82 and Zakk Lebeouf 84.

Tracy had already clinched a spot in the Monday tournament at The Reserve after the team went undefeated in San Joaquin Athletic Association matches. West’s team ended up in third place after St. Mary’s and Tokay, but the Tri-City Athletic League will send six more players from the league based on scores from Tuesday’s league tournament at The Reserve.

• To reach Sports Editor Bob Brownne, call 830-4227 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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written by Go Bulldogs , April 30, 2008

GO BULLDOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!