Ceres High’s varsity boys golf program continued its run of dominance against Western Athletic Conference competition in 2018.
The Courier’s Team of the Year for the spring sports season claimed its third straight WAC overall championship.
Gary Condit, Jayden Panyanouvong, Jake Nevarez, Visanoukone Homsombath and Braden Hurst led the way.
Condit was voted WAC Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row.
Panyanouvong and Nevarez both earned first-team all-conference honors.
"They’re competitive to a point but it’s not in your face. They’re harder on themselves if they don’t play like they’re capable of.”Coach Scott Smith
“A lot of these kids came through Greg Silva’s Jr. Golf Program at River Oaks,” co-head coach Scott Smith said. “That’s one of the reasons they’ve had success. They love the game. They want to improve. The camaraderie between all of them is pretty good. They help each other out on the range, and with chipping and putting. They’re competitive to a point but it’s not in your face. They’re harder on themselves if they don’t play like they’re capable of.”
Ceres High posted a team score of 452 en route to a first-place finish at the WAC Year-End Tournament at Rancho Del Rey Golf Course on April 30 in Atwater.
Condit earned low-medalist honors at the WAC season-ending tourney for the third year in a row.
He carded a 9-over-par 81.
Gary edged out Jayden (82) by one stroke.
Jake (91), Visanoukone (97) and Braden (101) rounded out the Bulldogs’ scorecard.
“There are so many people at our school that say golf isn’t a sport and it’s easy,” Condit stated. “That motivated us. We did a good of representing Ceres High.”
Ceres High also secured its eighth consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berth.
The Bulldogs (489) placed fourth at the Division-IV Tournament on May 7 at Merced Golf & Country Club.
Ceres High took fifth the previous two seasons.
Gary paced the Bulldogs with a 6-over-par 78.
He finished sixth overall.
Panyanouvong, Homsombath, Nevarez and Hurst shot 90, 103, 105 and 113, respectively.
Condit secured an individual berth to Masters.
Gary (79) missed qualifying for Northern California Championships by six strokes.
“I’m very proud of how my teammates played,” Condit said. “I’m thankful for our coaches, too.”
Condit, Panyanouvong, Homsombath, Hurst, Haydon Swanson and Diego Fernandez will return to the team next year.
The Bulldogs will compete in the new-look WAC.
Ceres High will battle Los Banos, Pacheco, Beyer, Grace Davis, Johansen, Lathrop and Mountain House.
“We’ll compete for the title next year, too,” Smith said. “We’re only losing one guy to graduation. We got a great group. They know how good they can play.”
“We’ve been working hard over the summer,” Condit added. “We’re pretty motivated for some new competition. We want to win every match. That’s our mindset.”
