DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN – The Harlingen High boys fired a first-round 304 to take the lead after Day 1 of the District 32-6A golf tournament on Monday at Tony Butler Golf Course.
Led by Dylan Martinez, who shot a 73, Cole Charvat, who fired a 74, and John Ortega, who had a 75, the Cardinals put themselves in prime position to capture the league crown if they can hold off the competition in today’s final round.
Just behind the Red Birds is Harlingen South, which shot a 328, and defending champions Brownsville Hanna, which finished with a 330. Meanwhile, Weslaco High remains just 29 strokes off the leaders after a first-round 333.
The Hawks were led Monday by Brandon Garza, who shot a 76, along with Josh Torres and Aaron Arismendez, who both fired an 83. For the Golden Eagles, defending individual champ Santiago Garcia led the way with a 73 while teammate Austin O’Brien shot a 79. As for the Panthers, Bradley McCaleb fired a 77 while Quinlan Vos aided the team with a opening-round 83.
On the girls side of things, Los Fresnos shot a 336 to take the opening-round lead, but the Lady Falcons are being followed closely by Weslaco High, which shot a 360.
Briana Garza, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for regionals last season, shot a 73 to lead the way for the Lady Falcons. Meanwhile, Annika Hovda of Weslaco fired a first-round 74 to lead her squad.
Second-round action tees off today at 8 a.m.
The top two teams along with the top two individuals not on a qualifying squad advance to the Region IV-6A tournament, which is set for later this month in San Antonio.