RV golf tops rival Honkers

Shelby Bryeans carded low medalist honors Wednesday as the River Valley High girls golf team posted its first win of the season, defeating cross-town rival Yuba City by forfeit at Mallard Lake Golf Center.

Bryeans shot a 52 on the par-35 layout.

The Honkers (0-5) recorded the next three best scores — Brennan Sargent shot 54, Kayleen Willoughby hit 61 and Lupita Almaraz shot 62.

"Their top three beat our top three," Falcons coach Karen Anderson noted. "They are pretty good."

However, Yuba City forfeited the match because it did not field the minimum five players. The Honkers have four on the team but one player failed to show because of a doctor's appointment.

"We'll have a full team by the end of the year," Honkers coach Kent Myers vowed.

In the meantime, the Yuba City players are playing for points, hopefully earning enough to qualify for postseason tournament play.

Bryeans also is vying for points, figuring River Valley (1-3) won't register enough wins to earn a berth in the postseason as a team.

This is her third year with the River Valley girls golf team.

"I helped start the program," she noted.

Bryeans, a senior, has played No. 1 each season and last year she was good enough to make the postseason.

"I think I'm even better this year," Bryeans said, "especially in my irons. I'm a lot better at hitting my irons."

It was her iron play on the par-5 third hole where Bryeans recorded her lone par. Her tee shot nestled into a bunker alongside the eighth green, but the bunker was marked as an unplayable lie, so Bryeans received a free drop and no penalty.

She launched her second shot far down the fairway and then hit her third shot to within 20 feet of the hole. Her birdie attempt just slid by on the right lip and she easily sank the 6-inch comebacker.

Bryeans had a few other spectacular shots, but was unlucky. On one, she rifled the longest drive of her foursome at the seventh hole, only to have it nestle into a lateral water hazard, costing her a penalty stroke.

"It's not fair," Bryeans said. "But that's golf."

She also had a couple of three-putt greens that hurt her after strong approach shots.

"Golf sometimes is a game of luck," Bryeans said. "But you also have to have some skill sometimes."

Sargent is only a freshman but held her own as No. 1 for the Honkers. She, too, recorded one par, at the par-4 fifth hole, sinking a 25-footer that just dropped into the cup on its last roll.

I've only been playing golf since last summer," Sargent said, noting she got interested in the sport trough her grandfather, who owns Mallard Lake.

Also scoring for River Valley were Darcie Krause (63), Hannah Tokuno (64), Christine Anderson (65) and Emily Tomlin (67).

Contact sports reporter Richard Myers at 749-4714 or rmyers@appeal-democrat.com.