CONCLUSION: The girls’ golf season ends with the team’s first league victory since 2010.
By Skylar Rains, Staff Writer
Long days, hot weather and the infamous trek up to the Victoria Club did not stop the Poly girls’ golf team from obtaining victory after victory. They faced little to no competition against the other Inland Valley League teams, as most of their competition were either new to golf or teams who did not have enough members and were forced to forfeit. This makes one thing clear: the Inland Valley League is no place for our girls.
In many cases, the Bears conquered the opposing teams by over 100 points. Varsity players Holland Shourds (10), Zoe Zink (11), Savannah Santoro (12), Helen Krieger (10), Raylene Sivihok (11), Donna Jean Vaughan (10) and Katie Traylor (10) annihilated the competition, if you can even call their opponents that. Back when Poly was a part of the Big 8 League, the team actually fought for its number one spot, but in the new league, the victories come easy. The Inland Valley League consists of Arlington, Canyon Springs, North, Rancho Verde, Valley View and Vista Del Lago high schools,
none of which are known for stunning girls’ golf programs.
Overall, Poly remained undefeated in league for the duration of the season. The lowest team score was a 229 against Citrus Valley High School, which is presumably due to a rivalry that formed last year when Citrus Valley’s team became League Champion, forcing Poly to tie with Rialto High School for second place. This year’s league dominance was partly due to Holland Shourds’ low scores leading the team and the new coaching duo of Gwen Ritzau and Neil Schlesener. The team shows significant improvement from last year, and promises to reclaim its previous league prestige.
Poly’s scores in comparison to the league’s competition are very impressive, and serve as further proof that the girls possess the necessary skill level to compete in the Big 8 league.