By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
LAGUNA VISTA — In the end it came down to consistency and poise.
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial boys and the Hanna girls captured the 2015 District 32-6A golf championships on Thursday at the South Padre Island Golf Club.
The Chargers were behind by seven strokes to Hanna following the first round, but their consistent play led by Richard Tarpey, who shot a 1-under par 71 in the final round to help his team finish with a two-day total of 613 (305-308), five strokes better than the Golden Eagles, who finished second with 618 (298-320). Harlingen High finished third with 648 (327-321).
“We played well (on Wednesday), Hanna just played outstanding,” Brownsville Veterans coach Jose Zarate said of the team tying their low round of the year. “We talked (Wednesday night) about believing what you’re doing and it’s a two-day tournament, not just one. I said we can finish this thing, but it’s going to take all the holes. The last holes at the end, it was going to come down to that.”
The top two teams, Brownsville Veterans and Hanna, advance to the regional.
The Hanna coach will take the district runner-up and a regional berth after the consistency of the Chargers gave them the title.
“(Brownsville) Veterans came to play. If you look at their totals, every single one of them was in the 150s,” Garcia said. “I’m really proud of them, our goal was to qualify for regionals. As district champions would have been great, but you have to hand it to (Brownsville) Veterans they came in and kicked our butts today.”
The Lady Eagles were strong on both days. Led by Julie Lucio, who shot a final round 77 after a 1-under par 71 on Wednesday, gave Hanna a total of 694 (338-356) and a 36-stroke victory over Brownsville Veterans, who finished second with a total of 730 (358-372). Harlingen High was third with 737 (366-371).
“We knew we could play good,” Hanna coach Adrian Garcia said. “(Thursday) was a little rougher with the pressure of district, the wind and the fog in the morning, it was a grind. Julie (Lucio) ends up winning the tournament, but Nadia (Anzaldua) shot an 89-95 versus 105 (in pre-district), that was key. Ale (Rodriguez) struggled a little bit, but those two scores combined helped us, just a great win.”
The top two teams, Hanna and Brownsville Veterans, advance to the regional.
Zarate was proud of his girls squad for completing their goal.
“My girls played to the end, they did what they had to do to take care of it,” he said. “Trying to stay in second place to go to regionals.”
For the boys, Santiago Garcia of Hanna was the top individual medalist. Garcia shot a 69-78 for a total of 147 to win top honors and advances to regionals with the Eagles team. He was followed by Cole Charvat of Harlingen High at 149 (80-69), including a 3-under par final round and Ben Valle of San Benito at 151 (72-79), who shot a par-72 during the first round. Charvat and Valle will advance to regionals as individuals.
“Yes it was a big goal actually,” Garcia said of his tournament winning score. “But I wasn’t playing well, it was just an off day (Thursday).”
For the girls, Lucio was the top medalist with a total of 148 and advances to regional with the Lady Eagles team. She was followed by Hannah Greer at 153 (75-78) and Morgan McClaugherty at 154 (75-79) of Harlingen High. Greer and McClaugherty will also advance to regionals as individuals.
“I wanted to win of course,” Lucio said of her top score. “But also, I wanted to lead my team to victory because we haven’t won in a while and we really, really wanted to win.”
The Chargers coach thought his boys squad playing together — and consistently — was key over the two-day tournament.
“Hanna’s got a great team and they’ve been battling with us all year,” Zarate said. “Keep believing in what you’re doing. We didn’t have the first place guy or the second place guy. As a team all year we’ve been doing well, together we got it done.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.