Scotts Valley senior Maisey Chard shot a 13-over-par 82 to win both medalist honors and the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Championship individual title at DeLaveaga Golf Course in Santa Cruz.
“It was a very well rounded experience,” Chard said. “I’ve grown up in Scotts Valley and have been on the team since freshman year. It was really cool to see the progress and growth in a kind of a full circle moment.”
Chard recorded birdies on the 10th, 14th and 15th holes, along with pars on holes 8, 11, 12, 13 and 18. She said sinking back-to-back birdies on the back nine gave her a boost of confidence of winning the championship.
“I definitely felt nervous going into it,” Chard said. “I felt a bit more pressure, especially being a senior, being my last time playing. But I think my mental game was really strong. Reinforce positive mindsets that helped me perform to the best of my ability.”
Chard’s individual title makes it seven consecutive years a Scotts Valley golfer won medalist honors at the end-of-the-season league championships.
“[Chard] was on fire. She didn’t let anything get to her,” Scotts Valley head coach Anders Ohlsson said. “It was all good. She had back-to-back birdies and a bunch of pars. Maisie definitely did a great job.”
Fellow teammate junior Lauren Ohlsson shot a 95 to earn second place, while third place went to Aptos’ Emily Fassio (97), who recorded a par on the eighth hole.
Ohlsson’s biggest shot of the day was an eagle on the 10th hole. She also shot par on the third, fourth, 11th and 14th holes.
“[Ohlsson and Chard] were neck and neck the whole season,” Anders Ohlsson said. “We had eight regular season games, they were amazing.”
Chard shot a total of 234 in eight SCCAL matches this season, while Ohlsson was right behind her at 240. Both golfers split the medalist honors down the middle at four apiece.
Apart from winning an individual championship, the Falcons captured their sixth consecutive regular season team title by going a perfect 8-0 in league play.
“I think every year we have a pressure to win the league title because we’ve won it for so many years in a row now,” Chard said. “So, I think it’s more of the pressure of winning the championship for yourself and your team, and your school.”
Scotts Valley’s Becca Ervine (150) placed 10th, followed by teammate Serena Sanford-Brantley (152) in 12th. After 13 holes of play, Lizzie Goldfield did not finish due to illness.
Soquel’s Joey Burgos (109) placed fourth and San Lorenzo Valley’s Reagan Atkinson (124) took fifth.
Aptos’ trio of Lemi Anastasopoulos (125), Addy Burgess (127) and Lilly McGee (139) placed sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. Soquel’s Chelsea Myers (148) finished ninth and Harbor’s Olivia Strusis-Bregante (150) placed 11th.
Chard said their most recent success comes from being a tight knit community. She mentioned they all have a special bond on the golf course, and they became great friends throughout the season.
“I think it’s supporting each other,” Chard said. “We have new players every year, and it’s supporting the new players, giving them advice and teaching them how to be better.”
Scotts Valley’s team of just five players competed at the Central Coast Section Girls Golf Championships at Laguna Seca on Nov. 5. The season came to an end after the Falcons weren’t able to finish with enough players for a complete score.
Ohlsson shot a 100 to place tied for 91st, followed by Chard (101), Sanford-Brantley (178) and Ervine (186). Goldfield withdrew from the event.
This season’s turnout was far less than the 11 players on last year’s roster. So, being able to fork out a league crown was way unexpected for the Falcons’ head coach.
“I was worried when we started out. We had five players sign up,” Ohlsson said. “You don’t need six players, but you should have six players.”
Teams are normally supposed to carry anywhere from six to eight players, but the Falcons had just five competing in 2024. That included newcomer Sanford-Brantley.
“The key to success was that everybody showed up to every practice, everybody was willing to learn and get better, and everybody showed up to every game ready to play,” Ohlsson said.
Ohlsson said the first biggest challenge was recruiting. He doesn’t work on campus, giving him a disadvantage that most other coaches have at Scotts Valley.
He’s had to rely on word of mouth or current players finding other students at school that might be interested in joining the team. It’ll be the same struggle next year when both Chard and Sanford-Brantley leave after graduation.
“I think they have a new coach for the middle school, see what eighth graders come up as freshmen for next season. Because otherwise, it’ll be hard again,” Ohlsson said.
