This story has been updated with additional information
Two familiar names from the desert will again be in CIF-Southern Section team play for boys golf in two weeks, but one familiar team will not be in postseason divisional play.
Xavier Prep, the champions of the Desert Empire League, and Yucca Valley, the champions of the Desert Valley League, will both play in the divisional round. But Palm Desert High School, long a powerhouse in boys golf in the section, was not selected to play in the postseason.
Yucca Valley will play in Division 6 on May 18 at Bear Valley Country Club in Victorville, while Xavier will play in Division 2 at El Dorado Park Golf Course in Long Beach on March 19. But other teams in the desert, including Palm Desert and La Quinta, second and third in the DEL, did not advance.
CIF-SS team divisional assignments are based on rankings of every team in the Southern Section, those rankings being based on team scoring and performances in league play and outside tournaments, such as the 50-team Champions Invitational held each year in Palm Springs. While there are seven divisions, with Division 1 through 5 each including 22 teams and Division 6 and 7 each having 18 teams, that still leaves plenty of teams that don’t make postseason play.
“I think we are where we are supposed to be,” Xavier head coach Dave Menke said. “We are not a top 20 team, but we may be a top 20 team if we were healthy. Leo (Lanza), our No. 1 player has been out all season and I have only played our top six guys just a couple of times. And they didn’t really put together a stellar score when they were all playing.”
Only teams that win their league are automatically qualified for a divisional placement, which made Xavier Prep and Yucca Valley safe for the divisional round. All other teams have to petition the CIF-SS for a berth in the divisional round. Palm Desert and La Quinta from the DEL sent in a petition, but neither team was selected by the CIF-SS to play. The confusing part of the system is that Palm Desert, ranked 114th overall, did not get selected for Division 4, but Etiwanda of Rancho Cucamonga, ranked 118th, four spots lower than Palm Desert, was selected for Division 4.
Where the golf system deviates from the CIF-SS football playoffs, also based on a ranking system, if that football simply takes 16 teams into a division bracket, then the next 16 teams go into a bracket, and so forth. In golf, the divisions are filled based on both rankings and decision of the CIF-SS golf committee. The rankings also included metrics on a team’s top six scores for the season, so a strong score in a loss is better than a poorer score in a victory.
Xavier Prep, undefeated in the DEL with two wins over Palm Desert, was ranked 39th in the final rankings of the 354 teams overall, while Yucca Valley is 187th.
While Xavier and Yucca Valley will be in divisional play, the chances of the teams playing beyond their division assignments are slim. Only 14 teams will advance to the CIF-SS/SCGA qualifying tournament, the next step in qualifying for the CIF state championship. The top 10 teams from Division 1 are guaranteed to be among the 14 qualifying teams, and in theory all 14 of the team could come from Division 1.
Last year Xavier was in Division 3 and won the event, giving the school its first-ever boys’ golf divisional title and a CIF plaque. But the Saints were not selected to be among the 14 teams advancing to the SCGA qualifier. The Saints could have a stronger case if they place high or even win Division 2 this month, but nothing is guaranteed.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Xavier, Yucca Valley earn CIF boys’ team golf berths, Palm Desert left out
Reporting by Larry Bohannan, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
