The varsity boys’ golf team finished their season second in the Mission League and third in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) Division 3 playoffs. After spending the first half of the season in third place, boys’ golf coach Scott Wood ’88 said the team was able to find their footing and begin to improve.
“The 2024 team started with a lot of potential and youth,” Wood said. “We battled, finding our best form all year, until the end of the season when the matches had bigger significance. We played our best golf as the season wore on, a hurdle that we could not conquer the last few years. This brought us closer as a team and helped us realize a lot of our potential, two very positive things to take with us next year.”
While the team was not able to qualify for the CIF finals, Branden Wong ’26 advanced to the first round of individual CIF playoffs. Additionally, Wong was awarded the Mission League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2024 season after his performance in the Mission League playoffs. In the final round of the Mission League Tournament on April 30, Wong finished one under par, despite difficult windy conditions. After challenges in the beginning of the 2024 season, Wong said he is excited to have earned the title of MVP.
“MVP is honestly quite an awesome thing to say, and it’s also something I will keep with me for a while,” Wong said. “My last league tournament was one of the best rounds I had played, with a lot of battling. As for ending the season, I’m super glad to have finished it with a bang, since towards the beginning it was tough to find my way.”
Team Captain Henry Mariscal ’24 is committed to play golf at Bowdoin College this fall, after an uncertain start to his high school career during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wood said Mariscal’s leadership and guidance were recognized and appreciated by everyone on the team.
“Our senior captain, Henry Mariscal, played a big part in the chemistry of the team with his ability to gel with a close-knit group of sophomores, not always an easy thing for an upperclassman,” Wood said.” The guys had a respect for Henry in return, and that relationship played a big part in our success. I remember a dinner in Palm Springs where the rest of the guys and I shared what we admired about Henry. I was blown away by how articulate everyone was in expressing their appreciation for Henry as a player and a person.”
After finishing third in the first two league matches, Wood said the team’s communication and honesty were essential to bouncing back from a difficult start.
“Golf is so mentally and emotionally driven [and] it is very easy to succumb to pressure and expectations,” Wood said. “We talked a lot as a team throughout the entire year, having several difficult conversations. We delved into our challenges, communicated clearly and honestly, held each other accountable and took responsibility and ultimately came out stronger in the end. To us, that is success. Our improvement lies in our ability to reset our goals as a team and individually, communicate even more effectively and be there for each other no matter what comes up. Something unforeseen always pops up, so we expect the unexpected.”
