Valley next for Eagles

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The Clovis West boys golf team took the next step in its quest for a return to the state tournament as the Golden Eagles rolled to an 18-stroke victory at the North Area championships May 5 at Pheasant Run Golf Club in Chowchilla.

As they did a week earlier at the conference championships, all six Clovis West golfers posted scores in the 70s, with Trevor Guthrie firing a 2-under 70 to take low-medalist honors.

"Last week was step one. This is step two of five for us, hopefully," said Guthrie after the team carded a 14-over 374. Buchanan was second at 392, followed by Bullard (417), Memorial (426), Hoover (443) and Edison (446). "I think we're peaking at the right time. All of our games are starting to come around."

But the accomplishment that got Guthrie's attention was teammate Michael Weaver's 4-over 76. Weaver played the entire round without using his driver.

"I was with my teammate Pace [Johnson] getting warmed up, and the top of the face, it cracked about an inch or two, so I sort of figured I shouldn't play with it, because I didn't know what would happen if I did," Weaver said. "It made the holes a lot longer. The wind affected it too, because it was hitting higher, and it wasn't hitting as far."

If there was ever a course to lose one's driver, it was definitely not the par-72, 6,851-yard Pheasant Run.

"I probably hit more fairways than I would have with a driver," said Weaver, who relied heavily on his 3-wood, "but I had a lot more long-iron shots on the par-4s than I normally do."

All six Clovis West golfers -- Guthrie, Weaver, Ryan Williams (74), Johnson (77), Matt Swindle (77) and Mike Walter (79) -- qualified for the Central Section individual championships May 19 at Riverbend Golf Club, as did Clovis East's Derek Ernst (74) and Andrew Covacevich (79), and Buchanan's Phil Henderson (77), Cooper Louie (77), Shane Thomas (78) and Jace Merlo (79). The top 15 overall moved on to the Riverbend event. Clovis Christian's Micah DiFalco carded an 80 and missed the Valley cut by one stroke.

As for the team standings, Clovis West, fourth at the 2007 state championships, and Buchanan qualified for the Central Section team championships May 13 at Visalia's Valley Oaks Golf Course. The top-two squads at the North Area advanced.

"It could have been better. It could always be better," said Buchanan coach Greg Funk about the Bears moving on. "Today's about qualifying for Valley. Winning the thing would be nice, but it doesn't matter if you win or come in second, it's the same."

Clovis East, which won the team Central Section team title last season, did not have enough golfers to register a team score. The Timberwolves' Jonathan Maertens missed the event with a hip injury, and Clayton Robbins was unable to complete his round after striking a tree root on the second hole and injuring his left wrist. He withdrew after the ninth hole, leaving Clovis East with just four golfers, one short of the required five.

"Our goal was to try to keep pace with Buchanan, possibly Bullard, to get that second spot," Clovis East coach Gary Giannoni II said. "It just didn't come together like I'd hoped for. But, that's how fickle the sport is."