By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The golf season came to an end Thursday for the Harlingen High Cardinals and Harlingen South Hawks at the Region IV-6A Tournament in San Antonio.
The Cardinals wound up in ninth place with a 649 team score after the two-day tournament at Republic Golf Club.
Individual scores for the District 32-6A champion Cardinals were Mikey Bullock (79-71 — 150), Nate Newman (85-77 —162), Larry Bolt (88-82 — 170) and Nicholas Galvan (85-87 — 172).
Harlingen South was the runner-up team from 32-6A playing in the 6A regional tournament. The Hawks finished in 13th place with a 680 team total.
Individual scores for the Hawks were Jimi Abbott (83-81 — 164), Zach David (81-85 — 166), Malachi Pena (87-90 — 177) and Nolan Garrison (90-92 — 182).
“ I’m really proud of these guys,” South coach Larry Kruse said of his squad. “Where we finished the season is a lot better than where we started. I’m proud of their hard work.
“ It’s a young team,” Kruse added. “We have one freshman and four sophomores.”
The best finish by a Valley team at the Region IV-6A event was McAllen High in eighth place with a 637 team total.
The 6A regional boys team champion was Austin Westlake No. 1 with a 286-290 — 576. Austin Westlake No. 2 was second at 294-289 — 583 and San Antonio Johnson was third at 301-288 — 589.
Golfers qualified for state from this week’s regional competition by finishing as one of the top three teams or finishing as one of the top three individual golfers not on a state-qualifying team.
The three individual state qualifiers not on a team bound for state were Austin Lake Travis teammates Trey Bosco (70-64 — 134) and Nathan Petronzio (70-68 — 138), who were the top two medalists, along with San Antonio Clark’s Garrett Endicott (72-70 — 142).
Meanwhile, the Region IV-5A Tournament for boys was played Wednesday and Thursday at McAllen’s Palmview Golf Course.
Sharyland High’s Jun Min Lee was the top medalist with a two-day score of 69-67 — 136, which was six strokes under par.
It took a four-hole playoff to determine the second medalist as Zach Heffernan of Boerne Champion Navy defeated Jake Sitterle of Dripping Springs. Both finished at 1-under 143 after 18 holes.
Besides Lee, individual qualifiers to state that were not on a state-bound team included L.J. Chavez of Sharyland Pioneer (76-73 — 149) and Ethan Ming of Flour Bluff (78-74 — 152).
The top three teams at the Region IV-5A event were Boerne Champion Navy (304-308 — 612), Dripping Springs (314-314 — 628) and Alamo Heights (333-298 — 631).
Donna High (11th with a 725 score) and Brownsville Veterans Memorial (14th with a 759 score) were the two teams in the tournament representing District 32-5A.
Brownsville Veterans was led by Daniel Yznaga, the 32-5A medalist earlier this month in a playoff. He shot 85-86 — 171 at the regional. Jonathan Del Bosque led Donna High by shooting 84-90 — 174.
Chargers coach Thomas Abete said he was pleased with the efforts of his boys.
“ I’m proud of the boys for making it to the regional tournament this year,’ Abete said. “Nobody expected us to get that far, and I’m really happy the boys were able to experience playing with the best from our region.
“ The boys worked hard all (school) year long, and it sure paid off,” he added. “I’m proud of each and every one of my players for putting in work and dedication to this difficult game. We wish the best of luck to all Valley players and coaches who are advancing to the state tournament.”