The Harlingen Cardinals boys’ golf team put itself into position to qualify for the UIL state tournament after a solid first round at the Region IV-6A tourney on Monday at Republic Golf Course in San Antonio.
The Cards, who qualified for regionals after finishing second at the District 32-6A tournament a week ago, finished Monday tied for fourth place with Brownsville Hanna, which won the 32-6A tourney.
The Cards shot a team total of 308 and trail third-place New Braunfels by just three strokes. San Antonio Johnson was in first place with a 295 while SA Brandeis was in second with a 296.
Big Red was led by Nicholas Galvan and Cole Charvat, who both shot a 75 to finish the day tied for 14th place. Meanwhile, teammates Brandon Garza and Dylan Martinez both shot a 79, while John Ortega added a respectable 88 to the Cards’ total.
“We played really well and put ourselves in good position for tomorrow (today),” said Cards head coach Chris Milligan. “I’m very pleased with how comfortable our guys were. If we can keep that mindset (today), it should be a fun day to compete.”
But as good as the Cardinals preformed, Hanna will be a tough team to hold off, especially with sophomore Santiago Garcia leading the way. The District 32-6A gold medalist shot a 69 and is in first place heading into today’s final round. Meanwhile, teammate Alex Cortez carded a 73 and is tied for eighth place.
The top three teams and top three individuals not on a qualifying team, advance to the state meet, which, for Class 6A, will be held on April 25-26 at Legacy Hills Golf Course in Georgetown.
The Region IV-6A girls’ tournament, meanwhile, gets underway Wednesday with Harlingen High’s Hannah Greer and Harlingen South’s Amanda Alvarez looking to qualify for a trip to Georgetown.
Greer tees off on Wednesday at 9:52 a.m. on tee 10 alongside Rachel Yu of SA MacArthur and Laredo United’s Yu Ri Kim. Greer, a senior, is looking to qualify for her second consecutive trip to state.
Meanwhile, Alvarez tees off at 9:52 a.m. on tee 1 along with Allison Duffy of SA Churchill and Anissa Chaires of Laredo United. Alvarez, also a senior, last qualified for regionals as a sophomore and has not yet quailed for state.