DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
After the opening round of the Region IV-6A and Region IV-5A boys golf tournaments Monday, two Valley teams and one individual are in contention to qualify for state.
The top three teams and top three individuals not on the top three teams will qualify for the state tournament later this month.
At the Region IV-6A tournament, McAllen Memorial stood in fourth place after the first day at Cedar Creek Golf Course in San Antonio. The Mustangs scored a 314, nine strokes behind third-place San Antonio Johnson.
“We left a lot out there today,” McAllen Memorial coach Celso Gonzales said. “But we didn’t get riled up, we didn’t let mistakes bother us. We overcame mistakes and just moved on to the next hole. The kids weren’t frustrated and they were having fun.”
The Mustangs’ Trevor Kucia was the top Valley finisher after the first day. He shot a 76 to tie for 12th. Teammate Carlos Reyes shot a 77 to tie for 17th.
No other Valley golfer finished in the top 20 at the Class 6A tournament, which was delayed an hour because of bad thunderstorms the previous night.
“The balls were all muddy,” Gonzales said. “It’s hard as it is when it’s dry, but when it’s wet you don’t get the rolls, or things you think might happen don’t because of the mud.”
At the Region IV-5A tournament at Republic Golf Club in San Antonio, Edinburg Vela stood in fifth after the first day with a team score of 311, five back of third-place Austin Vandegrift.
“We’re hanging in there, five strokes out of qualifying for a spot at state,” Vela coach Miguel De Los Santos said. “We’re proud of the way the team did. You can’t win the tournament on the first day, but you sure can lose it. We put ourselves in striking distance.”
Mission Veterans Memorial’s Diego Hernandez is tied for fifth place individually with a score of 72 after the first day. He is three strokes back of first-place Colin Uecker of Kerrville Tivy.
The next highest Valley finisher was Vela’s Alberto Uriegas, who is tied for 18th with a 76.
“These boys have worked hard,” De Los Santos said. “We’ve psyched each other out as far as stepping up when it matters most, and that’s right now. They need to do their best playing and I need to do my best coaching. We just gelled today.”
The Republic Golf Course fairways were slow, De Los Santos said, because of the previous night’s weather. But distances were able to be controlled because the ball stayed where it landed.
“That was good for us today,” De Los Santos said.
The Region IV-6A and 5A boys tournaments conclude Tuesday. The girls start play Wednesday.
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Region IV-6A Golf Tournament
First Day
Cedar Creek Golf Course, San Antonio
Boys
Team: 1. S.A. Reagan, 301; 2. S.A. Brandeis, 302; 3. S.A. Johnson, 305; 4. McAllen Memorial, 314; T-5. New Braunfels (1), 316; T-5. S.A. Clark, 316; T-7. New Braunfels (2), 329); T-7. Brownsville Hanna, 329; 9. Corpus Christi Ray, 330;10. Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 333; 11. Laredo United, 338; 12. Weslaco High, 339; 13. Laredo Alexander, 343; 14. Edinburg North, 354; 15. Corpus Christi Carroll, 368; 16. McAllen High, 396.
Individuals: 1. Mason Weld, S.A. Brandeis, 68; 2. Ben Getman, S.A. Reagan, 69; 3. Nick Duggan, Helotes O’Connor, 72; 4. Gerardo Daniel, S.A. Johnson; T-5. Christopher Kane, S.A. Warren, 74; T-5. Sean Meehan, S.A. Johnson, 74; T-7. Andres Acevedo, S.A. Brandeis, 75; T-7. Cole Donielson, S.A. Churchill, 75; T-7. Seger Howell, Converse Judson, 75; T-7. Buck Parker, New Braunfels (1), 75; T-7. John Luhrman, Spring Branch Smithson Valley, 75; T-12. Michael Lebahn, S.A. Reagan, 76; T-12. Charles Gambrel, Del Rio, 76; T-12. Kevin Purasef, S.A. Churchill, 76; T-12. Trevor Kucia, McAllen Memorial, 76; T-12. Marshall Martin, S.A. Johnson, 76; T-17. Bailey Burgett, S.A. Brandeis, 77; T-17. Jonathan Koeppe, S.A. Reagan, 77; T-17. Carlos Reyes, McAllen Memorial, 77; T-17. Clayton O’Reilly, New Braunfels (2), 77; T-17. Hunter Fox, S.A. Clark, 77; T-17. Arman Mehrafza, S.A. Clark, 77.
Region IV-5A Golf Tournament
First Day
Republic Golf Club, San Antonio
Boys
Team: 1. Austin Vandegrift (Black), 292; 2. Alamo Heights, 293; 3. Austin Vandegrift (Silver), 306; 4. Boerne Champion, 308; 5. Edinburg Vela, 311; 6. S.A. Southside, 315; 7. Mission Vets Memorial, 321; 8. Edcouch-Elsa, 331; 9. Victoria East, 333; 10. Victoria West, 338; 11. Uvalde, 340; 12. Bastrop (1), 354; 13. Bastrop (2), 379; 14. Mercedes, 402; 15. S.A. Edison, 428; 16. S.A. Highlands, 439.
Individuals: 1. Colin Uecker, Kerrville Tivy, 69; 2. Mac Meissner, Alamo Heights, 70; T-3. Clayton King, Uvalde, 71; T-3. Tobin Niblett, Austin Vandegrift (Black), 71; T-5. Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans Memorial, 72; T-5. Cooper Dossey, Austin Vandegrift (Black), 72; T-7 Angelo Leyvani, S.A. Edison, 73; T-7. Levi Valadez, Alamo Heights, 73; T-7. Charles Kim, Leander Cedar Park, 73; T-10. Parker Ray, Alamo Heights, 74; T-10. Obed Alvarado, S.A. Southside, 74; T-10. Daniel Martinez, Austin Vandegrift (Black), 74; T-13. Brandon Hoff, Austin Vandegrift (Black), 75; T-13. Skyler Young, Austin Vandegrift (Black), 75; T-13. Foster Givens, Austin Vandegrift (Silver), 75; T-13. Thomas Winters, Marble Falls, 75; T-13. Jake Wittschiebe, Boerne Champion, 75. T-18. Ryan Meija, Austin Crockett, 76; T-18. Lucas Mylet, Austin Vandegrift (Silver), 76; T-18. Jake Stevenson, Boerne Champion, 76; T-18. Alberto Uriegas, Edinburg Vela, 76; T-18. John Kellum, Alamo Heights, 76.