High school roundup: Cardinal Newman's Abby Leighton shines as NCS golf play begins

Cardinal Newman High sophomore Abby Leighton tied for medalist honors while Maria Carrillo golfers Nicole Kearns and Tricia Cayetano also posted qualifying scores at the North Coast Section Division 2 girls golf championship Monday at Peacock Gap Golf Course in San Rafael.

Leighton shot a 2-under 69 on the par-71 course to share individual medalist honors with Misa Church of Deer Valley and qualify for the NCS Championship, which will be held next Monday at Tilden Park Golf Course in Berkeley.

Pumas senior Kearns placed fifth with a 75 on Monday, while junior teammate Cayetano was 16th with an 86. The top 18 individuals advance to next week's tournament.

NCS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

Seedings released Monday for the NCS girls volleyball championships featured Santa Rosa seeded eighth in Division 1 among 23 local teams that reached the playoffs in the five divisions.

The Panthers will host Liberty at 7 p.m. Tuesday with a matchup with No. 1 seed James Logan going to the winner. James Logan, of Union City, is ranked No. 1 overall in Northern California by MaxPreps. Santa Rosa is ranked 15th.

In Division 2, No. 8 Montgomery meets No. 9 Casa Grande on Wednesday. No. 11 Windsor and No. 12 Ukiah also qualified.

Division 3 teams from local schools include Analy at No. 8, Sonoma Valley (10th), Rancho Cotate (15th) and Piner (16th).

Kelseyville leads the local contingent in Division 4 as the third seed, joined by Cardinal Newman at No. 6, plus Roseland University Prep, El Molino, St. Helena, Middletown and Fort Bragg.

St. Vincent, Mendocino, Clear Lake and Sonoma Academy are in the Division 5 tournament, while Tomales and Calistoga are in the Division 6 bracket.