Benicia High’s boys golf team didn’t have a great day Monday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Tournament at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville, but the Panthers were good enough to extend their season.

The Panthers finished with a 418, well behind tournament champion Whitney (398) but five strokes ahead of Oakmont for second place and the final berth into next Monday’s Section Masters Tournament at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.

“Most of our players said they played their ‘C’ game,” said Benicia golf coach Nan Prolo. “It wasn’t ugly but it wasn’t pretty. We held on and did what we needed to do.”

Evan Cuenco and Zack McClure each shot a 79 to lead the Panthers. Nick Flores came in with an 83, Connor Hatfield had an 88, and Dustin Sparks rounded out Benicia’s scorecard with an 89. The top individual score of the day was a 73 as no one broke par.

“It was a difficult course,” Prolo said. “The greens were very, very fast and tricky. I saw one player pick up his ball and quit. There were a lot of frustrated golfers out there.”

It’s the second consecutive Masters appearance for the Panthers after five straight season-ending finishes in the Divisional Tournament. The Panthers shot a 442 at last year’s Masters and finished 13th out of 14 teams.

“Some of those Division I schools are remarkable,” Prolo said. “If you don’t shoot even par, you may not even make their team.”

Benicia has won 56 straight Solano County Athletic Conference matches and has gone unbeaten in SCAC play four years in a row.

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