Cordova sophomore Eli Cervantes stands next to his father, and Lancer’s assistant coach, Manuel Cervantes. Photo courtesy of Head Coach Brian Botsford

CHOWCHILLA, CA (MPG) - Cordova Lancers’ sophomore standout Eli Cervantes participated in the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Division II Tournament at Pheasant Run Golf Course in Chowchilla, CA on May 5. The underclassman put together a very strong outing as he shot an 83 on the course, showing the future is bright for the youngster.

His performance ranked him 26th out of the 66 individual participants, just narrowly missing out on advancing to the next round by four strokes. On the day, Cervantes outscored many Metro League rivals including the McClatchy Lions team as a whole, three players from West Park, and all three in attendance for Antelope. Lancers head coach Brian Botsford was pleased with what he saw.

“He played well,” Botsford said. “He just had one hole where put one into the water and that's a couple extra strokes. Then he hit it again and it went back into the water, so just on one hole is where he had his difficulty. But everything else, he held his own and played strong.”

As just a sophomore, gaining the invaluable experience of playing well in a postseason tournament should bode well for the future of both Cervantes and the Lancers as Botsford continues to build a solid program.

“It’s super valuable,” Botsford said. “Last year at the Divisionals he shot 20 shots worse. So this year he shot much better. I think a lot of it is how hard he's worked, and he also has played a couple tournaments outside of high school that his dad (Cordova assistant coach Manuel Cervantes) has him involved with. I think that's huge, and you could just see the confidence in him.”

The Lancers will hold their team-wide season awards dinner this week.