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Dawgs first at mid-season boys golf tournament
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Ceres High freshman Gary Condit tied for fifth place in the individual standings at the WAC Mid-Season Tournament this past week in Chowchilla. - photo by Courier file photo

Ceres High's varsity boys golf team made a statement at the Western Athletic Conference Mid-Season Tournament last week.

The Bulldogs posted a team score of 437 en route to a first-place finish.

Ceres High topped six other schools, including Los Banos (468), El Capitan (472), Patterson (506), Livingston (507), Central Valley (532) and Pacheco (619), on Thursday at Pheasant Run Golf Course in Chowchilla.

"On our way over there, I told the boys if they posted individual scores under 90, nobody would get close to beating us," Bulldogs first-year head coach Abel Maestas said. "I knew they could do it. I'm proud of them. They did a great job. We dominated the tournament. We won by 31 strokes."

Ceres High had five of the top seven individual scores at the WAC tourney.

Bulldog Jacob Langan placed third with a 14-over-par 86.

Jayden Panyanouvong (fourth place) shot an 87.

Gary Condit, Zac Chapman and James Cervantez tied for fifth with identical rounds of 88.

Langan, Panyanouvong, Condit, Chapman and Jake Nevarez led the Bulldogs to a fifth-place showing at the Oakdale Cup on March 7. The tournament featured 16 teams.

"We've always had good morale," Maestas said. "It's higher now. Having that experience in Oakdale and doing well gave us confidence going into this tournament. We always feel like we can do better."

Ricardo Briseno (99) and Noah Postley (99) were Central Valley's top finishers.

Briseno and Postley tied for 12th place in the individual standings.

Derek Weis (106), Jose Castillo (109) and Efrain Garcia (119) took 18th, 19th and 24th, respectively.

Ceres High and Los Banos compiled identical 5-1 records during the first half of the WAC dual season.

Central Valley won one of its six matches.

The Bulldogs won their head-to-head matchup versus the Tigers, 171-189, at St. Stanislaus Golf Course on March 15. Ceres High had to forfeit the victory to Los Banos due to a warm-up violation which occurred minutes before the contest got underway.

The rematch will take place on April 19.

"Every match and tournament is a learning experience," Maestas said. "I'm looking forward to seeing them get better as the season progresses."