Juan Diego CHS girls golf wins state champion title

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The Soaring Eagle girls golf team claimed the 3A title during the May 7-8 state tournament.

WEST BOUNTIFUL — Juan Diego Catholic High School’s girls golf team cinched the 3A title at the state tournament May 7-8 at Lakeside Golf Course in West Bountiful City. Six members of the team made it to state: juniors Isabella Werner and Vanessa Martinez, sophomores Sabrina and Camilla Macias, and freshmen Alexis Burt and Ava Werner.

As the tournament ended, the Soaring Eagle score was just one stroke ahead of Morgan. Initially the team thought they had not taken first place, but then officials adjusted scores from the tournament’s first day, bringing them out on top with a score of 699, coach Kyler Herdt said.

“Alexis actually outscored Camilla that day before for our team, and that was the difference,” he said. “The two strokes that she had helped us out. She went from us losing by one to winning by one.”

Throughout the season the Soaring Eagle team dominated the competition, Herdt said. “Pretty much all season long, we would win it by anywhere to, like 40 to, I think one time we almost won by 100 strokes.”

At the regional tournament the team did not have its best day but nevertheless took the title with a score of 332. It was a similar experience at state, Herdt said.

“Every stroke counts, and winning by one or winning by 20, I guess it doesn’t really matter, as long as we win,” he said. “But I thought what was really impressive was the fact that the girls never quit on me, and it took the entire team effort, like our top four scores from the first day of the tournament.”

Isabella Werner was the team captain, and “I couldn’t have picked a better captain,” Herdt said, adding that the junior is mature and a good team leader.

He calls Ava Werner “Clutch Gene” because “anytime she needs to do something big she pulls it off,” he said, while Sabrina Macias’ contributions to the team also were notable.

“Sabrina all year showed that she has a ton of potential, and she’s had the two lowest scores of the entire year,” he said. “I’m proud of her efforts, and I know how much she loves the game.”

A first-year coach, Herdt has high hopes for the team’s future, he said. “I’m big on Kobe Bryant and Mamba mentality [a philosophy of focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work], and so I want to try to get that two-peat and then hopefully a three-peat.”

Herdt has a strong golf background himself.  He played for Clearfield High as a freshman and for Woodlands High School in Texas. He graduated from the San Diego Golf Academy in 2010 with a golf operations degree in golf course management and teaching. He has been with Apex Golf Instruction for three years.