Last year feels like a distant memory, but Mila Dawson is following a similar path as she began the postseason on Monday at the Bay Counties League girls golf championship, held under sunny skies at Peacock Gap. San Domenico’s Dawson led Marin golfers, finishing seventh overall with an 89, just two strokes off her team-best score from last year at the same course. Despite her solid performance, Dawson was her own toughest critic as the scores were posted. “I had one bad hole,” she said, referring to her five-over on the par-5 12th hole. “It was a long hole, so there were many chances to get into trouble. If not for that, I could have bounced back and done better than last year.”
Dawson’s effort was likely enough to earn her an individual spot in next week’s North Coast Section Division II tournament at Rooster Run in Petaluma. St. Joseph, the tournament and regular-season champions with a team score of 387, secured two of the top three individual scores to claim an automatic berth for NCS. Marin Academy finished second with 391, followed by San Domenico in third at 405. Last year’s BCL tournament champion, Marin Academy, is seeking an at-large berth for NCS.
St. Joseph (13-0), in one of their most dominant seasons in recent history, won the regular-season title ahead of runner-up Marin Academy (11-3) and third-place San Domenico (9-5). The title race was tight going into the final week, but St. Joseph edged out Marin Academy by one stroke, while San Domenico forfeited its last three matches, including one against St. Joseph.
“I had a good day—not my best, but good,” said Marin Academy’s Elsa Anderson, who shot a team-best 91 on Monday, finishing eighth overall. “I feel good about next week’s NCS. It’s been a strong season. Our freshmen have stepped up, and our juniors have improved. It’s been great.”
Monday’s individual championship was decided in a playoff between Athenian’s Cindy Yuan and St. Joseph’s Ava Harbo, both finishing their rounds at 75. Yuan clinched the win in sudden death on the first hole. St. Joseph’s Cecilia Zhou (83) took third place. The Wildcats’ Sterling Colpitts finished 10th with a 95, four strokes behind Anderson. Jordan Kelly shot 102, Genevieve Zeches 103, and Kelly Lundgren 111.
“I struggled at first, but the back nine was better,” said Colpitts, noting that her team rarely plays the back nine at Peacock Gap, which serves as the home course for both Marin Academy and San Domenico. “Some of the greens were fast, but manageable.”
Lola Hu posted San Domenico’s second-best score of 102, followed by Maya Bar-Cohen (104) and Alicia Wang (110).
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