LITTLE RIVER — Middletown High School”s Blaine Ruggio fired a 3-over-par 74 to lead the field on Thursday during a non-conference golf match at Little River Golf Course on the Mendocino County coast.
Ruggio”s low round of the day couldn”t stop the Willits Wolverines from winning the team battle as they finished with a score of 354 to Middle-town”s 366 on the par-71 course. Kelseyville came in third with 376, Mendocino was next with 401, Point Arena had 404 and Fort Bragg 433.
“It beats playing in snow flurries at Adams Springs,” Kelseyville coach John Berry said of the 18-hole round on the soggy Little River course. “No snow here.”
Kelseyville”s golfers have had limited time outside because of the recent storms that have hit the county, according to Berry.
“So this was a good chance to get our beaks wet,” he said.
While rain fell on Kelseyville”s trip over to the Mendocino Coast, it let up for the match.
“The greens were soggy and we have mud up to our kneecaps,” Berry said.
Middletown”s Ruggio was the only golfer to shoot in the 70s on Thursday. A handful of others finished in the 80s, including Willits” Daniel Beamesh at 84, Point Arena”s Trace Yager and Kelseyville”s Wyatt Ferrell at 85, Mendocino”s Logan Reed at 86, and Middletown”s Daniel Eagle at 88.
With the Coastal Mountain Conference North and South teams now competing in Division II, team scoring has been revised and will include the best four out of six rounds for each team instead of the best five out of six, as in previous seasons.
Kelseyville returns to action Monday in the Hilmar Tournament at Stevinson Ranch. The Knights open their CMC South schedule Thursday at Mount St. Helena Golf Course in Calistoga.
St. Vincent in the South and Willits in the North are the teams to beat this year, according to Berry.
“St. Vincent has almost everybody back,” Berry said.
