From a pool of 27 that started on Monday, through two cuts, and an 18-hole marathon final day Wednesday at Recreation Park, the Moore League champions have conquered—or should that be survived?—the individual tournament.  Of the twelve remaining golfers who teed off today, the top eight received All-League honors (which come with a placement medal and a league patch), and the top six will now advance to the CIF individual regionals next Monday, to be held at the  Yucaipa Valley Golf Club. 

Not unexpectedly, Poly dominated the tourney, taking the top three spots with the lauded Estoque sisters, Ligaya and Kristel, finishing one-two.  Graduating senior (and tourney champ) Ligaya can rest assured her little sister, who’s just a freshman, will be keeping the family tradition alive for the next three years.  A challenger may have emerged, though, in Millikan’s Alex Ross, who shot an 87 at Rec to tie for fifth place.  Along with Kristel Estoque, Ross is the only freshman in the top qualifying spots.

Millikan coach Robert Tomlin was impressed with Ross’ debut performance in a Moore League tourney, especially given one surprising fact.  “Today was actually the first time she’d ever played a full 18 holes at Recreation Park,” he said after the tournament.  “She had a great front nine, she was actually only one stroke back of third place at that point.”

Now that she’s got a little practice under her belt, it should be fun to watch she and Estoque duke it out on the Long Beach links for years to come.  Up next for these talented golfers will be next week’s CIF regional tournament, which will see three representatives from Poly, and one competitor each from Wilson, Millikan, and Lakewood.  Wilson and Lakewood each had an additional golfer receiving league honors, though they won’t be moving on to the next tournament.

Here are the final scores, with the overall three-day score in parentheses:

1st – Ligaya Estoque – Poly – 85 – (163)

2nd – Kristel Estoque – Poly – 84 – (165)

3rd – Lauren Deaderick – Poly – 87 – (167)

4th – Alex Hoye – Wilson – 88 – (171)

T-5th – Kati Thompson – Lakewood – 87 – (173)

T-5th – Alex Ross – Millikan – 87 – (173)

7th – Elizabeth Thometz – Wilson – 94 – (182)

8th – Samantha Blais – Lakewood – 90 – (185)

9th – Tracey Yonemura – Poly – 95 – (186)

10th – Alexis Hayes – Wilson – 95 – (194)

11th – Taylor Mansur – Poly – 98 – (197)

12th – Miranda Thompson – Millikan – 102 – (200)

13th – Kailyn Ono – Lakewood – 102 – (201)

Again, the top six qualify for CIF regionals, and the top eight received Moore League honors.  Congrats to all the competitors, and good luck at regionals on Monday!  Come back to LBPOSTSports.com for a full recap of that event.

Thanks again to Wilson’s coach, Jeffrey Evans, as well as Millikan’s Robert Tomlin for providing the info!