STOCKTON — Trey Van Groningen has taken advantage of his postseason mulligan.

The Ripon Christian senior is on his way to the NorCal regional after a co-runner-up finish in the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament on Monday at The Reserve at Spanos Park. He and Franklin’s (Elk Grove) Jayden Lizama carded 3-under 69s, coming up a stroke shy of low medalist Luke Dariotis of Jesuit.

Van Groningen is believed to be the first Ripon Christian boys golfer to reach the NorCal tournament. He was one of nine area golfers vying for a spot Monday. Trans Valley League and SJS Division V champion Ripon, paced by freshman Cru Sullivan, placed eighth out of 13 teams with a 405 score. Ripon Christian’s Hudson Schenk enjoyed a solid Masters debut, and Lathrop sophomore Brayden Beckmann had an eight-stroke improvement from his previous appearance.

The top three teams — Vista del Lago (381), Jesuit (384) and Granite Bay (386) — move on to the NorCal tourney along with four individuals not on qualifying teams. Joining Van Groningen as individuals are Myles Pena (70) of Twelve Bridges, Andrew Elguindy (71) of Elk Grove, Ethan Cheng (71) of Western Sierra and Lizama.

Signed with Dordt University, Van Groningen thought his high school career had ended after not qualifying out of the Division V Tournament last week. He ended up getting a pass as an alternate, as two qualifying players had Advanced Placement testing on the day of Masters.

“I was all bummed out that that was going to be my last high school tournament,” Van Groningen said. “When I found out I was able to go, I knew I was an underdog and wanted to make the best of it. I shouldn’t have even been here, and luckily, I made it.”

There was no luck in how he read the greens in a round that started out cold and rainy and ended with some wind. Van Groningen began his round on the par-3, 166-yard hole 15 and birdied.

“It actually started off really rough, because I was freezing — I didn’t have the right clothes,” Van Groningen said. “I didn’t even know it was going to rain.

“Despite all that, I was just kind of in my zone. I wanted to go as low as I could, and I was able to make some long putts today.”

He was even through 13 holes but made his run to the medal stand after returning to the back nine. Van Groningen sank a long, uphill putt for birdie on 10. He buried an even tougher birdie putt on 13, and ended with one more on 14.

“I barely made the cut to get here, so I knew I had to pull something together,” Van Groningen said. “This is my last chance, it’s my senior year, and this has been my dream all throughout high school.”

With Van Groningen on his way out, Ripon Christian should still be competitive with its talented underclassmen returning. Among them is Schenk, who capped his freshman campaign with three solid rounds in the postseason. The SJS Division V co-medalist finished in a seven-way tie for 21st place at Masters with a 76.

“Trey has seen a lot of our success throughout his four years with us and laid the groundwork for a lot of what we have now,” RC coach Christian Manes said. “To see what he has done motivates guys like Hudson and Matthew (Ubick, the TVL’s Most Outstanding Player), and they have a lot of talent. We’re excited.”

Longtime Ripon coach Chris Musseman also has reason for optimism. He’ll only lose TVL MVP Vincent Uecker to graduation and had up to four freshman contributors this season. Musseman has led the Indians to seven of their eight divisional titles, and they are eyeing more.

Sullivan led them Monday with a 77. Fellow freshman Andrew Bogetti netted an 80, Junior Richie Hughes added an 81, Uecker an 82, and freshman Alan Bunchien an 85.

“We were pretty freshman-heavy this year with three or four in our rotation,” Musseman said. “I think Andrew, Alan and Cru learned a little bit of what these environments are like in section tournaments. A couple of them stumbled a little bit, but with that experience, they’ll be a little more prepared for next year.”

Two early double-bogeys and a triple on 17 knocked Uecker out of the running, but he still had a strong senior season overall. After earning league MVP, he shared low medalist honors with Schenk at the divisional tournament. Uecker was the area’s top performer at Masters last year with a 2-over 74.

“Vince was that senior leader you really need with the young kids we had,” Musseman said. “He did a great job and had such a solid career. When he was a freshman four years ago, he was shooting in the high 80s and low 90s. He has worked super hard and was in the 70s almost all year. The kid has come a long way and was great for the team.”

Beckmann capped another terrific year for Lathrop, leading the Spartans to their first Western Athletic Conference championship while repeating as MVP.

After scoring an 86 at Masters as a freshman, he turned in a solid 78. He was within reach of a NorCal berth at 3-over after 13 holes but finished with three bogeys.

The California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Regional Championship is on Tuesday, May 27 at Berkeley Country Club in El Cerrito. The top three teams and nine individuals from there advance to the state championship set for June 3 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.