Ready to come out swinging

Golf team prepares for NCS event

Del Norte High golfer Luke Polidore, above, during a Humboldt-Del Norte Conference match in Crescent City in March. On Monday, the Warriors will take part in a Northcoast Section Qualifier event in the Bay Area. . For more photos, go to triplicate.com/photos The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

On Monday, the Warriors will compete at the Northcoast Section Division 1 qualifier at the Sunol Valley Golf Club in the Bay Area.

This year, the Warriors took second as a team in the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference to qualify for the NCS for the second straight year after a several-years absence as a team.

Leading the way for the Warriors this season has been senior  Luke Polidore, who came in second overall in the HDN and was only two shots off from the top spot.

Warriors head coach Kirk Burrows said that only the top 12 placers on Monday will qualify for the upcoming NCS Championships.

While it will be tough to qualify, Burrows believes his team has a chance to get a few players into the championship.

Last year, then-sophomore Christian Cain placed in the top 12 and qualified.

To Burrows, this is a dedicated group of golfers that has the potential to do well Monday.

“They work hard and want to get better,” he said.

Burrows said team members have done a good job doing what they can to improve and work on their game during their free time and in the off-season.

“They do a great job at self improvement,” he said

Polidore said he and the majority of his teammates are on the golf course year-round, perfecting their games.

“I really enjoy golf. I like the challenge,” Polidore said. “You need to have ability but you also have to be good in the mental aspect of it.”

In most years, Del Norte would have taken first in the HDN, Burrows said, but McKinleyville was very strong this season. The Panthers came in first at all the HDN meets and the Warriors always finished second.

A highlight was when Polidore took first place at an HDN match at Bigfoot Golf Course in Willow Creek on Monday.

For Del Norte, James Morrow took 7th overall in the HDN. Anthony Kravitz came in 12th while Christan Cain was 14th and Dillon Wright came in 15th. Morgan Fischer finished in 28th place.

The squad will go down to Sunol early and play the course for a practice round Sunday.

Morrow said it’s vital to get familiar with a course, especially one they have never played at before.

“It will give us a lot of help  getting used to the course with a practice round,” he said.

 Morrow hopes to show the golfers in the Bay Area that the Warriors can compete.

“I love the competition,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”

The players are close-knit    and enjoy socializing and playing golf together, which helps on the links as they support each other, Morrow said.

While Polidore would like to have a good score Monday, he said that in the end “no matter what I shoot, if I qualify, I’ll take it.”

Cain, a junior, is excited to compete again in the NCS qualifier.

Cain admitted that it has been an up-and-down season for him, but said he is ready to play well and qualify.

To do well on Monday, Cain said it will be crucial to “hit my putts well and have them fall in.”

While it was great to qualify last year, being the only one from Del Norte to play in the NCS championship is something he hopes will change this season.

If he and a teammate or two qualify this year it would be quite the accomplishment, he said.

“It will be so much better if more than one of us qualified,” Cain said.