Six local high schools met at the Turlock Golf and Country Club on Monday to face off in the Central California Athletic League Midseason Tournament. The Bulldogs of Turlock High School took advantage of playing on their home course once again, posting a combined score of 385, which was good enough for first place. The first-place finish was the second straight tournament victory for the Bulldogs, who came out on top two weeks ago against a field of 16 schools at the Crosstown Cup.
The Bulldogs were once again led by Clark Van Gaalen, who shot a 68. Not only did Van Gaalen’s 68 top all of the scores of his five Turlock teammates, but it was also the best score out of the 33 golfers who participated in the entire tournament. The next closest golfer to Van Gaalen’s 68 was Gregori High School’s Dilan Bahadur, who posted a 74.
Turlock head coach Jason Boswell was not surprised with Van Gaalen’s domination of the TGCC course, especially considering that the sophomore continues to post competitive national scores at the junior level.
While Van Gaalen and Bahadur impressed in their play on the TGCC course, Turlock’s Christian Maggard did not fall far behind. Maggard earned the second-best round for the Bulldogs and the third best round of the tournament with his score of 76. Meanwhile, teammates Keean Young and Nihal Gill helped the cause as they both shot an identical 79, while Elias Rabine and Grant Old both pitched in with scores in the 80s.
The collective effort by the Bulldogs was enough to best second place Gregori Jaguars by 86 strokes. The Jaguars posted a team score of 471.
Monday’s victory for Turlock comes after the Bulldogs posted three consecutive wins in league play since their Crosstown Cup tournament win earlier in the month. The winning streak, paired with the Midseason Tournament title against their five league counterparts, affirmed THS’s position as defending champions of the CCAL.
Even as the Bulldogs come off a championship season in 2021, Boswell strongly believes that this year’s squad remains one of the most talented he’s ever coached since he took the helm for Turlock.
“These scores are potentially good enough for a Section title and possibly NorCal,” Boswell said. “This is the best team I have had since I started coaching.”
Turlock will look to finish the regular season on a strong note when they play another tournament on April 25 at the Consumnes Oaks tournament. After the tournament, the Bulldogs will end their season in a rivalry matchup against the Pitman Pride on April 27 before setting their sights on the CCAL Championship match on May 2.
