Sherpa, Bleth guide Vaqueros to fourth after first round of State Championships

SBCC's Pratima Sherpa shot 2-over 74 on Sunday and is tied for third after the first round of the 36-hole CCCAA Women's Golf State Championships at Morro Bay Golf Course.

Sherpa, a freshman from Kathmandu, Nepal, is four strokes behind the leader, Haruka Koda of Canyons. Koda, who finished second by a stroke in last year's State Finals, fired a 2-under 70 and teammate Jessie Lin shot 71.

Alexa Bleth, the only sophomore on the Vaquero squad, carded a season-best 76 and is tied for eighth in a field of 60 players (eight teams, 15 individuals). Bleth shot 79-74--153 last year to finish sixth and earn all-state honors.

Canyons, the defending state champion, opened with a 305 and has a 15-stroke lead over second place Reedley (320). Modesto is third at 323, SBCC is fourth at 326, Sierra is fifth at 330 and Saddleback is sixth at 331. Second through seventh are separated by just 18 strokes.

The Vaqueros have finished first, second, third and fourth in the state in the last four years.

Paris White added an 87 for the Vaqueros on the picturesque 5,378-yard layout by the ocean and Cally Casterline shot 89.

"I was very happy with our team score," said SBCC coach Chuck Melendez. "Pratima and Alexa played well.  We need everyone to shoot a little better tomorrow and we should be able to grab another trophy."

The final round will start at 9 a.m. on Monday.

CCCAA State Championships
At par-72 Morro Bay GC
First round
 Team -- 1, Canyons 305. 2, Reedley 320. 3, Modesto 323. 4, SBCC 326. 5, Sierra 330. 6, Saddleback 331. 7, Desert 338. 8, San Joaquin Delta 373.
 Medalist -- 1, Haruka Koda, Canyons, 70. 2, Jessie Lin, Canyons, 71. 3 (tie), Pratima Sherpa, SBCC, 74; Monica Yu, Reedley, 74; Samantha Smedshammer, Modesto, 74. 6 (tie), Katie Stribling, Saddleback, 75; Precious Saelee, Mt. SAC, 75. 8 (tie), Alexa Bleth, SBCC, 76; Melanie Anderson, Sierra, 76.
 SBCC scores -- 3 (tie), Sherpa 74. 8 (tie), Bleth 76. 35 (tie), Paris White 87. 42 (tie), Cally Casterline 89. 52 (tie), Marie Naud 96.