The Venice High School boys golf team finished sixth at the Southern California Regional Championships on Thursday at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena.
The Gondos, who shot 380 to win the CIF Los Angeles City Section title for the second straight time and third time in four years two weeks ago at Griffith Park, carded a five-player total of 383, a collective 23 strokes over par.
Torrey Pines of the San Diego Section shot 7-over par to place first with a score of 367 and will be joined at the state finals June 6 at San Gabriel Country Club by Rancho Santa Margarita (370) and Clovis West (380). Temecula Great Oak (381) was fourth and Cathedral Catholic of San Diego matched Venice at 383, but took fifth by virtue of a lower sixth-player score.
Gondos senior Kevin Cullen shot a 2-over 74 and City runner-up and UC San Diego-bound Clayton Yamaguchi shot a 75. Junior Marc Reyes shot a 76, Ryan Miyamoto (also headed to UC San Diego) shot a 77, Derek Tsukahira shot 81 and Luke Almendariz shot 82.
Long Beach Wilson (384), Santa Barbara (384), Clovis North and City Section runner-up Granada Hills (404) rounded out the Top 10 teams.
Cullen placed 35th overall and Yamaguchi was 38th in the individual standings. Jonah Texeira of Granada Hills was the top City golfer, finishing 13th at even par, and Palisades' Kornelius Baliukonis was 24th at 1-over. Yamaguchi birdied the 10th, 13th and 15th holes but he bogeyed No. 5, No. 7, No. 11 and No. 12 and double bogeyed 6. Cullen birdied No. 9 and No. 15 but bogeyed No. 3, No. 12, No. 16 and No. 17.
Yamaguchi tied for fifth place at last year's state finals at Poppy Hills Golf Club in Pebble Beach, shooting an even-par 72. No Venice players qualified for state this season.
