Johansen’s Pena, Gregori’s Ebster qualify for state championship in Pebble

There’s a tee time for two of the Stanislaus District’s best at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

Daniel Pena and Chris Ebster are headed to hallowed ground to vie for a California Interscholastic Federation state championship.

The pride of the Modesto Metro Conference punched their ticket Monday at Corral De Tierra Country Club, where Johansen’s Pena and Gregori’s Ebster finished tied with three others at 1-over-par 73.

Pena offset four bogeys with three birdies, earning back strokes on the third, 13th and 14th holes.

Ebster showed flashes of pure brilliance and would have contended for the medalist honor if not for a run of bogeys on the back half of the course. Ebster fired six birdies, including four on the first six holes, but fell back onto the bubble with two bogeys and a double on 13, 14 and 15.

“It was remarkable. He went birdie, birdie, birdie, par, birdie,” Gregori coach Bradd Stewart said of Ebster’s fast start. “He was flawless. He had two doubles, and that was it. He played the course like he owned it, like that was his course.”

Ebster returns to the state championship a year after qualifying as a freshman at Central Catholic. The Raiders advanced as a team in 2014, making this individual invitation all the sweeter.

“Personally, I think it’s harder to qualify on your own,” Stewart said.

For Pena, his first state championship adds to an already crowded crown. The Johansen junior is the Division I South champion and reigning Bee Player of the Year.

“Most of the schools that win are Catholic schools,” Stewart said. “For two kids from the public schools to go, this is high-quality golf. It shows a lot for Modesto.”

Central Catholic finished eighth in the team standings at 25 over, well off Monday’s NCGA/CIF Northern California champion.

Bellarmine conquered Corral De Tierra. Three players finished in the red as Bellarmine posted an impressive 4-under 356 total.

Granite Bay finished at 1-over 361, Foothill of Pleasanton qualified for Poppy Hills on a tiebreaker. Foothill and Stevenson were deadlocked at 15 over after 18 holes, and the final state bid was decided by each team’s sixth scorer.

The state championship will be held June 3.

Swimming

Tolman, Wells qualify for state – Scott Tolman and Ty Wells are good friends, teammates with Ripon Aquatics and even share jobs as junior coaches with the Manteca Dolphins program.

Where one goes, the other isn’t typically far behind.

And so it went Saturday at the section swimming finals at Tokay High in Lodi, where Tolman and Wells qualified for the first CIF State Meet in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Tolman, a Sierra junior, touched the wall in fifth place at 57.7 seconds, a fingertip or less ahead of Wells (57.75), a promising freshman at Ripon.

The top three in each event, as well those that posted a qualifying time at the section meet, advance to Clovis. The two-day state meets begins Friday.

Tolman will swim two events. He finished second in the 50 freestyle (21.3), trailing only Lodi’s Robert Watts.

Wells was also fifth in the 100 butterfly (51.78), and Gregori’s Christian Britton was fifth in the 200 individual medley (1:55.2).

The Central California Conference’s girls left their mark on the Stanislaus District on Saturday.

Merced’s Jande Monteon was ninth in the 100 free (54.2) and 13th in the 200 free (1:56.59), and teammate Mireya Ortega was sixth in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.24). Natasha Sondeno of Pitman was fourth in diving.

This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Johansen’s Pena, Gregori’s Ebster qualify for state championship in Pebble."