The Riordan boys golf team successfully qualified for the Central Coast Section Regionals this May. On May 6, golfers made their way out to Monterey to compete among 22 other teams at Laguna Seca.

Six players qualified for the playoffs, these players being: Michael Cha ’26, Micheal Colabianchi ’26, Harry Nguyen ’26 Alden Thai ’25, Jaden Chin ’25, and George Polyzos ’25.

To prepare for this competition the team practiced extensively the week before. Additionally, they drove down to Monterey before the competition and practiced a round of golf, getting a feel of the course, taking notes, and acknowledging the condition of certain holes.

The next time golfers set foot on the field to compete, Tuesday afternoon conditions proved to be discouraging. As the first set of 11 teams finished competing that morning, the quality of the field became uncooperative.

Polyzos, a first time competitor in the CCS, said, “Personally I played alright. The course’s conditions were playing tough, and some shots were hard to gauge.”

All in all, Riordan’s boys golf placed 9 out of 11 teams and will unfortunately not be moving forward to the CCS championship this year. However, Alden Thai ’25 emerged with Riordan’s highest score being 78 strokes.

It has been four years since Riordan last competed in the Central Coast Sections Regionals. Last year the team missed the playoffs by a singular stroke.

Varsity golf coach, Jeff Isola ’98, is not discouraged by this loss. This year’s goal was to compete in the CCS regionals and eventually in the championship, however the team’s loss makes way for a new defined goal for boys golf in 2026.

This year’s players have brought a new hope for next year’s championship dreams with four returning players, three of which returning from the CCS, poised to return to the fold.

Coach Isola stated, “We achieved that goal. We just didn’t get to [the championship], so it’s something to work on next year.”