WINDSOR — The St. Vincent Mustangs put a stranglehold on the Coastal Mountain Conference South golf race on a wet and windy Wednesday at Windsor Golf Club, cruising to a 422-454 victory over the Kelseyville Knights on the par-72 layout.
“It rained on us and it also was windy, about a three-club wind,” Kelseyville coach John Berry said.
Middletown came in third with 480, St. Helena had 484, Tomales was next at 551 and Rincon Valley Christian and Calistoga were incomplete (fewer than five golfers).
With two South matches already lost to rain and wet course conditions (at Adams Springs and Meadowood), the Knights desperately needed a win at Windsor to have any realistic chance of staying in the South race.
“Mother Nature didn”t help us, but we didn”t help ourselves when we lost at Hidden Valley (on April 13),” Berry said.
The CMC South regular season wraps up next Tuesday at Oakmont West in Santa Rosa. The Knights need to win that match and hope for a complete collapse on the part of St. Vincent to pull even atop the standings. The Mustangs are 29-1 overall to Kelseyville”s 26-4. Middletown is third in the South at 18-12, just ahead of St. Helena (17-13).
“We”re not going to catch them and no one can catch us for second,” Berry said, pointing out that the top two teams move on to the North Coast Section playoffs.
Evan Knight of St. Vincent and Blaine Ruggio of Middletown tied for the low round on Wednesday, each shooting 77. The only other golfer to break 80 was Rincon Valley Christian”s Kasey Cazet at 79.
Ruggio stands to advance to the sectional playoffs by virtue of being the conference”s low scorer this season. Two other at-large berths are up for grabs.
Kelseyville sophomores Corey Huber and Wyatt Ferrell led the defending CMC South champions with rounds of 85 and Tyler Drake had 89. Middletown”s Lisa Copeland had a 92.
“They”re obviously making some strides this year,” Berry said of Huber and Ferrell, who will form the backbone of Kelseyville”s team next season.
