By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Golf has been a major part of Julie Lucio’s life since around the time she first picked up a club as a 5-year-old.
With constant practice, the state-bound Hanna sophomore has become quite a standout golfer, improving her average to 74.5 strokes over 18 holes.
It helps that she comes from a golfing family. Jesse Lucio, her father, and Bobby Lucio, her uncle, are well-known local golf instructors and coaches. She also benefits from having Adrian Garcia as her coach at Hanna. He’s in his 18th year of directing the Golden Eagles’ golf squads that recently captured boys and girls team titles at the District 32-6A tournament in Harlingen.
When asked what it is about golf that she enjoys so much, Lucio said it’s the individual competition plus having the camaraderie and support of her teammates.
“I love the sport,” she said. “The family got me interested in it right away, and just being on the course is a great feeling. It feels like the place for me to be, like my second home.
“Golf is an individual sport, so it’s just me and the course,” she added. “I want to beat my score from before and I just try to get better every time.”
The next big challenge for Lucio in her chosen sport comes today as she plays for the first time in the two-day UIL Class 6A state tournament at Georgetown’s Legacy Hills Golf Course.
“Just to shoot my average or lower at state would make me very happy,” said Lucio, who is the two-time 32-6A individual champion.
Although Lucio is the only one from Brownsville who qualified, some other players she is familiar with will be at state, too. They include Harlingen High’s Hannah Greer and Weslaco High’s Mclean Beckwith, both individual 6A qualifiers from the Valley as well.
Other Valley golfers — all boys — who have qualified for state individually are Sharyland High’s Jun Min Lee in Class 5A, Raymondville’s James Alfaro in Class 4A and Lyford’s Jorge Serna in Class 3A. Also, Sharyland High’s girls have qualified as a team in 5A.
Lucio is believed to be the first female golfer from Brownsville ISD to qualify for the state tournament.
“This is something well-deserved for Julie,” Adrian Garcia said. “She’s very consistent and she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.
“I see her as definitely one of the top 20 golfers out of the 72 players in the (6A girls) field,” he added. “Anything can happen. It’s golf, and that’s the beauty of it.”
The Hanna coach’s son, Santiago Garcia, is a sophomore as well. He was the individual champion for the boys at the 32-6A tournament for the second straight year, just like Lucio for the girls. He and senior Alejandra Rodriguez came close to qualifying for state at the regional tournament earlier this month in San Antonio.
“It’s a motivation for me to see Julie go to state,” said Santiago Garcia, who lost a playoff at regionals to barely miss out on qualifying for a trip to Georgetown. “I’m proud of her.
“I’m glad Julie and I have each other there (on the Hanna team as fellow sophomores),” he added. “I can play against her and one day she’ll beat me and another day I’ll beat her, so the competition’s always good.”
Santiago Garcia’s teammates on the Hanna “A” boys squad that won 32-6A on April 5 are Alex Cortez, Austin O’Brien, Ruben Samaniego and Chris Gonzalez.
Besides Lucio and Alejandra Rodriguez, other players on the Hanna “A” girls squad that is a two-time district champion are Alexis Rodriguez, Kimberly Garcia and Lucy Lopez. Alejandra Rodriguez is headed to college on a golf scholarship.
“I would just say thank you to my coach, my teammates and my dad and mom (Ada),” Lucio said. “My teammates make me work harder and play better. I love my team.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess