Athlete of the Week: Reyes small in stature, but delivers big on golf course for Rancho Bernardo High

By Michael Bower

Calista Reyes stands just 5-feet tall and is smaller than most of her competition — but she can still drive a golf ball off the tee just as far as many of the other girls.

Reyes is low-key, quiet and reserved — but inside she is booming with confidence and has a relentless passion to win.

Reyes is only a freshman at Rancho Bernardo High — but she has delivered like a four-year starting senior.

Nope, the mold does not always have to fit to be a success. Reyes is proof of that.

“You wouldn’t peg her as a top golfer in the county by looking at her,” said Tim Steigerwald, who has 199 career victories in 12 years as head coach of the Broncos. “What most people don’t see is her consistency off the tee, her ability to keep the ball in play and out of trouble, and her short game.

“Some say golf, when played at a high level, is 90 percent between the ears,” he added. “Her 90 percent is better than most.”

Reyes, a talented 14-year-old, right-handed girls golfer, is indeed one of the top players in the county, and she has helped bring the Broncos out from behind the shadows cast by powerhouse Torrey Pines.

She fired a match-best 3-under-par 33 at Bernardo Heights Country Club last week as Rancho Bernardo ended the Falcons’ match-win streak at 117 with a 183-187 Palomar League victory.

It was the second time this season Reyes carded a 3-under-par 33 to earn medalist honors against Torrey Pines, who have captured the state title the last four years in a row.

“The kid shows up and performs,” Steigerwald said. “There are 10 or 11 golfers out there in those matches that are going to get scholarships and she beat them all both times. I don’t think she sees it that way and I don’t view it that way, but that is the reality.”

The reality is Reyes, who posted a minus 0.162 handicap index in the regular season, has groomed herself to thrive in the biggest moments. She has been playing golf since the age of 7 and has competed in many prestigious tournaments on the American Junior Golf Association and Southern California PGA Junior Tour circuits.

In September, she won the SCPGA-sanctioned Toyota Tour Cup tournament at Indian Wells Golf Resort by seven strokes.

“Since I have been playing a lot of big tournaments against all of those girls (on Torrey Pines) and other top players, I feel like I play good under pressure,” said Reyes, who in August was named the 2014 San Diego Junior Golf Association Player of the Year for the 13/14 age division. “I just play as if I am playing for a tournament title.”

She and the Broncos will be playing for a tournament title next week in the San Diego Section Girls Golf Championships (The Broncos have a bye from Thursday and Friday’s play-in rounds and will open Tuesday in Round 1 at Admiral Baker Golf Course).

Rancho Bernardo has finished second to Torrey Pines in the section tournament the last four years in a row. Steigerwald expects nothing less than for Reyes to bring her ‘A’ game.

“I feel as comfortable with her delivering as anyone I have ever had and I have had some good ones,” he said. “I know she will perform, because that is the kind of kid she is. Calista is going to give us a great round. She will hit the fairways and then chip and putt people to death.”

That is Reyes’ MO. She has always concentrated on her short game, because she figured with her lack of size she would not be able to keep up in distance off the tee. That has not been completely the case, though, as Reyes can still get the ball out there with the best of them.

“I don’t really hit as far as some of the bigger girls, but I still hit it a pretty decent distance off the tee,” she said. “I get it pretty close to the other girls, but I have to rely on my putting and chipping around the green for making pars and birdies.”

She and her teammates have made plenty of those this season and it has already led to a historic year no matter what happens the rest of the way. The Broncos ended up as co-champions in the Palomar League with the Falcons. It is the first Palomar League title in girls golf in Rancho Bernardo High history.

“I am pretty proud to be on the team that finally got that banner,” Reyes said. “It is a huge achievement and the whole team is excited about it. Every year, the girls in the program tried really hard and this year we finally did it.”

The next piece of history the Broncos are chasing is their first berth in the state tournament. The win over Torrey Pines has them feeling pretty confident.

“Just knowing we can beat them now gives us a lot of confidence,” Reyes said. “We think we can win the section tournament, get into the regional and then finally qualify for state.”

And, if they do, you can count on Reyes shining every step of the way.