Page One

Alameda-Contra Costa Athletic League golf powerhouse Alameda already had the league’s lone North Coast Section team berth secured going into Monday’s ACCAL championship tournament at the Chuck Corica Golf Complex. But with three at-large individual berths up for grabs, the afternoon was hardly meaningless for the second-place St. Mary’s boys golf team. 

Panther sophomores Brian Haller and Ian Saulsbury made the most of their opportunities to advance, shooting 73 and 79, respectively, over the 18-hole course to place second and seventh. Because both scores made the top three among non-Alameda golfers, the duo was granted the ticket to NCS. The trip will be the second for Haller – who qualified as a freshman – and the first for Saulsbury. 

“They both played well all year, so I wasn’t surprised at all,” said St. Mary’s coach Phil Doran, who led the Panthers to a 13-3 record in the ACCAL this season. “They both had very good years as freshmen, and expected a lot of big things from themselves this year. They didn’t disappoint.” 

The Panther pair’s advancement highlighted a solid day of team competition for St. Mary’s, which combined to shoot 402 – good enough for second place behind Alameda. The score was slightly inflated by the absence of No. 1 golfer Chris Weidinger, who injured his shoulder last week, though Chris Yaris shot an 81 in Weidinger’s place to earn all-league recognition.  

With the 2000 season over for all but Haller and Saulsbury, Doran hopes to concentrate on improving those two scores in practice. While the coach expects his qualifiers to be plenty competitive at NCS this year, he is quick to point out that both are sophomores, and will have two more years to make progress in the postseason. 

“I just want them to do their best, whatever that is,” Doran said.