DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
Sharyland High produced impressive performances during the first day of the UIL state golf tournament Monday. If Rattlers freshman Jimmy Lee can sustain his strong start, and the Rattlers’ girls team improve incrementally upon its start, they will leave Tuesday with medals.
Lee is tied for second with Austin Vandegrift’s Brandon Hoff and is five strokes back of winning a state championship at Wolfdancer Golf Course. Lee shot a 71, three strokes below his season average.
“I’m happy, but I could’ve definitely shot a lot better,” Lee said. “I had six birdies, but I had five bogeys. The pace of play was terrible. I got off rhythm, so that might’ve been some part of it, but I can do better.”
Lee said his long game was good and the putting was inconsistent. The latter is something he plans to improve Tuesday. He also said he intends to do a better job hitting closer to the pin.
The windy conditions, however, were advantageous for Lee. Lee said playing in the Valley helps him adjust to that. He also said it had an effect on other golfers, which played to his favor.
“I was expecting more from the course,” Lee said. “I thought the greens would be in better shape. The fairways were pretty good. The layout was OK. There were some weird holes, but mostly it was pretty good.”
Senior Ana Jose Erana, who has known nothing else other than qualifying for the state tournament, shot a 75 and is tied for third with Humble Kingwood’s Ariana Saenz. Erana is three strokes back of first place.
Erana is pacing a Lady Rattlers team that is sitting in fourth place after shooting a team score of 333. Sharyland High is six strokes back of third-place Grapevine. The top three teams medal.
The Lady Rattlers finished four strikes back of medaling last year. Aside from Erana, Laura Rodriguez shot an 85, Mariana Flores 86, Christina Shinn-Rolden 87 and Raquel Flores 87.
“We know we have what it takes to pull it off as a team,” Erana said. “This course requires a lot of patience and you really need to let it come to you. You can’t force anything, and that’s basically what it’s about. We know that, and we know that if we’re patient we can do a lot of good things.”
As for her own game, Erana was pleased with her poise and control on day one.
“My overall game was pretty good,” she said. “I’m really confident in what I’m doing. It’s trusting myself and the work I put in. There’s not much we can do at this point. Everything goes back to the work and preparation and I let the game do the rest.”
Weslaco High senior McLean Beckwith shot a 76 on day one of the Class 6A tournament at Legacy Hills Golf Course.
Beckwith is six strokes back of first place and is 35th individually. Six players are tied for second with a 71, two are tied for eighth, and eight are tied for 10th.
=========================
Class 5A Golf Tournament
Day One
Wolfdancer Golf Club
Boys
Par 72
Team
1. Austin Vandegrift, 285
2. Alamo Heights, 304
3. Frisco, 311
4. Richmond George Ranch, 313
5. Austin Vandegrift Silver, 317
6. Houston Stratford, 318
7. Frisco Wakeland, 319
8. Grapevine, 320
9. Mansfield Legacy, 321
10. Fort Worth Boswell, 323
Individual
1. Cooper Dossey, Austin Vandegrift, 66.
T-2. Jimmy Lee, Sharyland High, 71
T-2. Brandon Hoff, Austin Vandegrift, 71
T-4. Levi Valadez, Alamo Heights, 72
T-4. Kyle Cox, Carrollton Creekview, 72
T-4. Daniel Martinez, Austin Vandegrift, 72
7. Mac Meissner, Alamo Heights, 73
T-8. Zane Warren, Richmond George Ranch, 74
T-8. Brody Blackmon, Sulphur Springs, 74
T-8. Jackson Powers, Mansfield Legacy, 74
11. Judd Tilson, Lubbock Cooper, 75
====================
Class 5A Golf Tournament
Day One
Wolfdancer Golf Club
Girls
Par 72
Team
1. Humble Kingwood, 303
2. Austin Vandegrift, 321
3. Grapevine, 327
4. Sharyland High, 333
5. Frisco Liberty, 336
6. Huntsville, 345
7. Magnolia, 351
8. Austin Vandegrift silver, 353
9. Fort Worth Boswell, 356
10. McKinney, 366
Individual
1. Hannah Alberto, Humble Kingwood Park, 72
2. Casey Letherman, Huntsville, 74
T-3. Ariana Saenz, Humble Kingwood, 75
T-3. Ana Jose Erana, Sharyland High, 75
5. Hailey Derrickson, Austin Vandegrift, 76
T-6. Kyoug Kim, Crowley, 77
T-6. Tori Gatling, Humble Kingwood Park, 77
T-6. Ava Schwienteck, Magnolia, 77
T-6. Sophia DiGesualdo, Austin Vandegrift, 77
T-10. Kelly Xac, Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway, 78
T-10. Anna Takahaski, Grapevine, 78
===============
Class 5A Golf Tournament
Day One
Legacy Hills Golf Course
Boys
Par 72
Team
T-1.Plano West, 291
T-1.Mansfield, 291
T-3.Southlake Carroll, 296
T-3.Austin Westlake, 296
5. S.A. Johnson, 297
6. Conroe The Woodlands, 299
7. League City Clear Springs, 302
8. Houston Clear Lake, 304
9. Dallas Highland Park, 310
10. New Braunfels, 315
Individual
1.Kane C. Ybarra, Northside Warren, 70
T-2. Luke Davidson, Mansfield, 71
T-2. Landon Ernst, Mansfield, 71
T-2. Andre Jacobs, League City Clear Springs, 71
T-2. Travis McInroe, Plano West, 71
T-2. Colin Kober, Southlake Carroll, 71
T-2. Johnny Keefer, S.A Johnson, 71
T-8. Andy Lopez, Plano West, 72
T-8. Cody Banach, Houston Clear Lake, 72
T-10. Logan Pate, Fort Bend Travis, 73
T-10. Peyton Coursey, Mansfield, 73
T-10. Adrian Costagnola, Conroe The Woodlands, 73
T-10. Trent Oliver, Northside Brandeis, 73
T-10. Michael Rome, Austin Westlake, 73
T-10. Reese Ramsey, Austin Westlake, 73
T-10. Garrett Martin, S.A. Johnson, 73
T-10. Caleb Hicks, Arlington Lamar, 73