HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Two years ago, the Donna High boys golf team didn’t break 400 for a team score. Many times, they didn’t come close.
Coach Tim Garate, however, knew those struggles were going to be short-lived. This was the team that would end the district-title drought.
Two years later, that same group of golfers is now district champs.
Donna shot a 378 team score, one day after shooting its best score of the year at 350, and claimed a 32-stroke victory over Edcouch-Elsa in the District 32-5A golf tournament Wednesday at Monte Cristo Golf and Country Club in Edinburg.
Donna junior Jonathan del Bosque also earned medalist honors with a two-day 163 (80-83), outpacing Brownsville Veterans’ Daniel Yznaga by seven strokes.
“I’m extremely happy,” said Garate, in his fifth year at the Donna helm. “These kids had never picked up a club prior to high school, but once they did, you could just see it was their sport, and they have worked hard.”
The team is made up of four juniors and one sophomore, Michael Garcia, who finished fifth overall in the tournament by shooting a 185 (90-95). Alexis Mendoza (188) and Esteban Lopez (192) also finished in the top 10 for Donna.
Donna and Edcouch-Elsa advance to the Class 5A Region IV tournament April 23-24 at the Golf Club of Texas in San Antonio.
Del Bosque came in shooting an average of nearly 88.5 for the season, and the team was averaging almost 380. On day one of the district meet, Del Bosque shot an 80 and the team came in with the 350, setting the tone.
“We had been talking about shooting from one range when they started, to getting to another range by this time of year, and they hit it exactly,” Garate said. “When they were freshmen, we were going to practices, and they asked if they could take their clubs home with them. Every weekend, they would take them home — this is no exaggeration — they would come in on Monday and put scorecards on my desk from the weekend, just like it was a homework assignment. They have worked extremely hard.”
Manny Lopez and Nick Reyes shot 179 and 183 to lead the Yellow Jackets.
In the girls District 32-5A tournament, Brownsville Veterans senior Julie Lucio put on quite a show, shooting a career-best 66 on Tuesday and following that with a 67 Wednesday to easily win top honors. The Chargers, as expected, also ran away with the team title, outpacing second-place Brownsville Lopez by 161 strokes, 618-779. The Chargers represented the top five individual finishers and were followed by Edcouch-Elsa’s Natalie Lopez, who scored a two-day 180. Lopez and teammate
Yara Ybarra will join the two Brownsville schools in the regional tournament.