De La Salle golf team wins CIF state title, finishes four postseason tourneys at 26-under-par

The same school year the famed De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football team didn't make a state championship game for the first time, its golf team might have pulled off the greatest postseason in state history.

"Perhaps the nation," De La Salle athletic director Leo Lopoz said.

For the fourth straight postseason tournament, the Spartans recorded an under-par team score Wednesday to win the California Interscholastic Federation state title by 11 strokes at San Gabriel Country Club in Los Angeles County.

De La Salle, led by a 3-under round of 68 by Joey Hayden, a 69 by Joshua Kim and 70 from Jaden Dumdumaya, shot a team total of 3-under 352 to beat runner-up Torrey Pines at 363.

Sunny Hills was third at 371, followed by Foothill-Pleasanton (373), Edison (378) and Dougherty Valley-San Ramon (382).

Foothill's Brandon Knight was medalist at 66, followed by Eric Hills of Sunny HIlls and Edan Cui of Crystal Sprints Uplands (Hillsborough), each at 67. Other De La Salle golfers were Jack Jerge (72) and Colin Keith (73). They threw out a 76 by Cameron Keith.

Foothill and Dougherty Valley each play in De La Salle's league — the East Bay Athletic League.

The Spartans opened its postseason by winning the EBAL tourney at TPC Stonebrae Country Club in Hayward with a league record six-under-par 354. The following week at Lone Tree Golf Course in Antioch, they shot a 14-under 346 led by a 6-under from Hayden to win the NCS Division 1 title before going a 3-under 357 at the Berkeley Country Club in El Cerrito to take the NorCal crown.

That's 26-under par for an entire month. Kim, a freshman, shot under par each of the four tournaments, 71, 71, 70 and 69, a total of minus-6.

The team is coached by Jim Collins.

"An entire month under par? As a team? Are you kidding me?" said Lopoz, who coached the golf team to its only other state title in 2006, the same year Rickie Fowler, of Murrieta Valley, was the individual champion.

De La Salle's title almost capped a banner season for the school, which collected nine section titles, including football's 30th straight. The school's baseball team, the top seed in Northern California Division I, plays a semifinal home game tomorrow against Foothill. If victorious it would play for a NorCal crown on Saturday.

"It's been a heck of a school year, but no team was more dominant in its sport than golf," Lopoz said. "I can't imagine we'll see that kind of play or scoring ever again."

The Spartans will return four of their top six players. Seniors Hayden and Cameron Keith will play next season at Santa Clara and Dartmouth, respectively.