Soquel High senior Joey Burgos had no expectations going into the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Girls Golf Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.
Whether that was the game plan, or not, she wound up taking home her first league championship as she shot a career-best 94 after 18 holes of action.
“I’m just gonna say that my drives were really, really good,” Burgos said. “That was my favorite part, just hitting dingers.”
Burgos, who first started golfing at First Tee–Monterey County 10 years ago, said she’s had a great support group throughout her career. So, being able to bring home an SCCAL individual title had a ton of significance behind it.
“It means a lot to bring it home for the team,” said an emotional Burgos, who shot a 104 in 2025. “To Chelsea [Myers], who’s been by my side since sophomore year, I’m really thankful for. I’m thankful for my mom, my grandma, my dad.”
Teammate Hailey Noland shot a 120, followed by Chelsea Myers (122), Marcella Miller (123), Marria Talavera (129) and Meisa Soga (129).
Apart from roping the ball down the fairway with her Ping G5 driver, Burgos said her putting was pretty on par for all 18 holes.
“My chipping, not good,” she said. “But my irons were pretty good.”
SCCAL league matches are typically just six holes but the end-of-the-season tournament has golfers playing the entire course.
“I don’t even think about it,” Burgos said. “I go hole by hole…our first six holes, that’s just a blip. That’s always what we do. Once I get back to [hole] seven, eight, nine, it’s like, ‘OK, we’re done with that.’ And then I go on the back nine.”
Aptos High senior Lemi Anastasopolous and junior Emily Kniffin each shot a team-best 111, followed by senior Giselle Opiana (121), junior Addie Burgess (133), senior Dakota Bamford (134) and sophomore Rose Perkins (158).
The Scotts Valley High girls golf team last week had already wrapped up its eighth consecutive SCCAL regular season team championship.
But, they were officially crowned with the traditional black-and-orange pennant following the conclusion of the league tournament.
Falcon junior Lizzie Goldfield shot a 98 for a second-place finish, while teammate sophomore Zoe Robbins carded a 100 for third place.
After the tourney, Goldfield mentioned a bit of pain in her spine but she still managed to hit the ball well despite the discomfort. Her shot of the day was an eight-foot birdie she sank on the second hole.
“I was just trying to do better than fourth because I got fourth last year, and I did,” said Goldfield, who shot a 108 in last year’s tournament. “So, I’m happy.”
Goldfield, who wore festive colorful socks that she picked out Tuesday morning, was also glad to be part of the program’s historical run of eight league titles in a row. Scotts Valley now has a league-best 11 championships, followed by Santa Cruz with eight, Harbor with seven and Aptos with four.
“It’s kind of nice because the past couple years I felt like I didn’t contribute a ton because I was only a sophomore and freshman,” she said. “But now that I’m the junior, it kind of feels nice to be able to be leading that.”
Robbins added, “It’s kind of like leaving our mark. It’s cool to be part of the chain.”
It was just the second time in Robbins’ young career that she played an entire 18 holes for a school match. This year, she got off to a nice start by nearly chipping in a shot from a little more than 20 feet on the second hole.
“My chipping was good,” she said. “That’s important.”
Other Falcon finishers included freshman Jess Ervine (116), senior Campbell Flores (126) and senior Hazel James (159). Teammate junior Camille Zwerling did not finish the tournament.
Burgos, who has her eyes set on attending either San Francisco State University, Cal Poly-Pomona or Cal State Fullerton, isn’t sure if she’ll continue golfing in college.
However, her high school career is still not over. Next up, the Central Coast Section Girls Golf Championships at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey on Nov. 3.
Burgos earned an automatic qualifier as an individual for winning the SCCAL tourney, while Scotts Valley is set to compete as a team.
“There’s a few girls that I used to play golf with as a child, and so I would be pretty excited to see some of them,” she said. “I know that they are phenomenal players. And to be by those people would really mean something.”
