Boys’ Golf

Halfway through a frigid Wednesday night practice, boys’ golf was relaxed, joking about each other’s shoes and competing over who could hit the longest shots. But make no mistake: The Panthers are laser-focused on their league campaign this season. After two consecutive strong seasons of runner-up finishes in the PAL Bay division, the team is looking to step up and win the league title.

“There’s always a goal for us to win a PAL title for Burlingame, and I think we have a strong group of returners coming back that are eager and want to do well,” Coach Jon Ramirez said.

The team will return a majority of its go-to players from last year, including the senior duo of Charlie Galanter and Andres Valldejuli, who will look to lead the team in their last chance at a PAL title. Ian Lai and Zachary Newman, who impressed as freshmen, will hope to continue their consistent low-scoring performances in their sophomore seasons. Senior Hudson Rose and junior Nate Teitelbaum will also be key contributors in the long season ahead.

“We have good players at all levels. We have a bunch of good seniors, juniors, sophomores and some promising freshmen, and so I think our team has a lot of depth and that we can get it done this year,” Galanter said.

In the lead-up to the season, the team has primarily focused on improving their putting, a way to minimize strokes on the course. And even amid the unpredictably harsh winter weather, they feel fully prepared for their first match of the year, a major test against the defending champions Aragon High School on Monday, Feb. 27.