The Gryphon Gazette

By: Arden X. ’27

Tuesday, May 6th, 2025. Laguna Seca Golf Ranch. Monterey, California

It was a regular day for most students. Yet for a select few individuals, that day marked the end of one of the greatest eras of dominance in Crystal sports history. 

For the past four years, Crystal Boys Golf was a powerhouse not just in WBAL League play, but in the entire state of California. 

It all started in the 2022 season. Aided by freshman phenoms Edan Cui (‘25), Ethan Lee (‘25), Griffin Chiu (‘25), sophomore Philip Hu (‘24), and the trusty old KC Mungali (‘23), Crystal Boys Golf experienced a breakout year, going undefeated in regular-season play, winning the WBAL Championship, and winning the CCS Championship. And even though they fell short in the Nor-Cal Championships, it was just the beginning of the dynasty. 

2023 was an even better year. Not only did all of our players get better, but the emergence of Henry Chen (‘25) as a rising superstar propelled Crystal Boys golf to another undefeated regular season, a win at the WBAL Championship, a win at the CCS Championship, 2nd place at the Nor-Cal State Championship, and a historic 3rd place at the CIF State Championship. Never before has Crystal Boys golf reached such heights of success. It was a monumental season, and one of the greatest dark-horse stories in CIF boys golf history

While 2024 was a slight drop-off from the previous year, it was still a historically unbelievable season. Even though the team lost one of their senior anchors, KC Mungali, the team was aided by a little-known freshman Arden Xu (‘27) that created extremely consistent good play throughout the team. That consistency propelled the team to yet another undefeated regular season, a win at the WBAL Championship, 2nd place at the CCS Championships, 2nd place at the Nor-Cal State Championship, and 5th place at the CIF State Championship. For the team to make back-to-back state championships was a feat rarely seen in any other Crystal sport, something that will forever live in annals of Crystal Sports history. 

The 2025 season signaled the end of a dynasty. Even with the departure of senior Philip Hu, Arden Xu’s significant step-up in performance led to yet another undefeated season and a WBAL title, marking 4 straight undefeated seasons and 4 years in-a-row as WBAL Champions. However, during the CCS Regionals, a series of unfortunate events led to Griffin Chiu withdrawing during the middle of his round due to a back injury. It was on that day, May 6th, where David had beaten Goliath, thus marking the end of a great dynasty. 

Nevertheless, these past four years represent something unprecedented in Crystal sports. Throughout this dynasty, we have seen four D1 athletes and one D2 athlete compete for the Gryphons. Especially since only six players compete, the amount of college talent concentrated on this team is something out of this world. 

This team was special. 

It wasn’t just about how good we played golf (although that was nice to have). It was also about the intrinsic value that all of us players realized within ourselves. Some of us realized that golf wasn’t the right thing, and made difficult career transitions. Some of us were stubborn enough to stick to golf and tried brute-forcing our way through problems. Some of us initially found golf to be boring. Yet throughout this dynasty, all of us found our sense of identity, our sense of who we truly are, what we enjoy in life, and where we belong in this world. And all of this wouldn’t have been possible without the camaraderie and joys of being part of the golf team. 

This dynasty will never be forgotten, and those that were part of it will live to tell the tale of the Crystal Boys golf team. 

Let’s all go out and get In-N-Out burgers after this.