DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — McAllen Memorial boys golf coach Celso Gonzales did not know what to expect.
Coming into the first day of the District 30-6A tournament Monday morning at Howling Trails Golf Course, Gonzales was without his No. 1 player Carlos Reyes, dealing with a broken elbow, and another one of his top five players. He knew he needed other players to step up. He didn’t know who would, however.
Enter Trevor Kucia. The junior shot a day-best 73 to pair alongside teammate C.W. Phillips (76) as they helped the Mustangs to a first-place finish heading into the final round of district play Tuesday.
“We can’t win it the first day, but we sure can lose it,” Gonzales said. “I’m just happy the boys came out and were ready. I didn’t know what to expect. Whenever your No. 1 player is gone and another player is gone, you never know. But we had guys step up and I’m so pleased.”
Kucia’s season scoring average was 82.6. Gonzales said Kucia is expected to be the team captain next year, but he got an early start Monday.
“I wanted to shoot my best, play my best,” Kucia said. “See how low I can go. Chipping was the main part of my game today. The greens were tough, but the green speed was really good.
“I told our guys we had to step it up. Carlos is a great player and we know we have to make up a lot of strokes. C.W. and I, we had the mentality to shoot low.”
The Mustangs shot 318 as a team, 13 strokes ahead of second-place McAllen High. La Joya Palmview is third with 351.
On the girls’ side, Mission High is in first with a 366 score, followed by La Joya Palmview (396) and McAllen Memorial (421).
“We can do better,” Mission coach Danny Castillo said. “We can be 15-20 shots better. We have to adjust to the different play of the greens and the scores will get better.”
The top two teams and top two individuals not on the top two teams advance to regionals next week.
Mission High’s Mia Lerma and Palmview’s Briana Silerio are tied for first with a first-day score of 79. Lerma, a freshman, had a goal of winning a district championship this season, and she’s close.
“My drives were working for me, the distance was there,” Lerma said. “My short game, though, that’s something I need to improve on. I had putts that were too long, and increasing my putting, doing better on the short game will help.”
Lerma is five strokes ahead of her sister, Leah, who shot an 84. Each of the last two years, Leah has finished in second place in the district tournament.
“We push each other to help each other,” Lerma said. “We know by doing that, we’re helping the team as well. It’s exciting to know I have a shot at regionals. Winning district is important for me, especially because my sister has been so close for two years. It would be a big deal winning.”
Palmview’s Michelle Raya (89) and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Karla Martinez (93) round out the top five individual girls. Memorial’s Kucia and Phillips were the top individual boys finishers, followed by Palmview’s Cristian Zuniga (80) and McAllen High’s Lucas Abbott (80) and Vinny Zamora (81).
Colton Henderson, a fill-in this tournament, was another surprise for the Mustangs, shooting an 81 to finish tied for sixth with Zamora.
“It just shows what we’re capable of,” Kucia said. “We’re ahead and we want to keep it that way.”
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District 30-6A Tournament Meet
April 4, 2016
Howling Trails Golf Course
First Round
Par = 72
Boys
Team Scores
1, McAllen Memorial, 318
2, McAllen High, 331
3, La Joya Palmview, 351
4, La Joya High, 406
5, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 416
6, McAllen Memorial “2”, 421
7, Mission High, 442
Individual Scores
1. Trevor Kucia, McAllen Memorial, 73
2. C.W. Phillips, McAllen Memorial, 76
T-3. Cristian Zuniga, La Joya Palmview, 80
T-3. Lucas Abbott, McAllen High, 80
T-6. Vinny Zamora, McAllen High, 81
T-6. Colton Henderson, McAllen Memorial, 81
7. Carlos Cano, McAllen High, 82
T-8. Tyler Pena, McAllen High, 88
T-8. Ross Gonzales, McAllen Memorial, 88
T-10. Omar Martinez, La Joya Palmview, 91
T-10. Joseph Lopez, La Joya Palmview, 91
T-10. Jordan Vargas, McAllen High, 91
13. Alan Salinas, La Joya High, 95
Girls
Team Scores
1. Mission High, 366
2. La Joya Palmview, 396
3. McAllen Memorial, 421
4. McAllen High, 457
5. Mission High “2”, 471
6. La Joya High, 475
Individual Scores
T-1. Mia Lerma, Mission High, 79
T-1. Briana Silero, La Joya Palmview, 79
3. Leah Lerma, Mission High, 84
4. Michelle Raya, La Joya Palmview, 89
5. Karla Martinez, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 93
6. Caroline Cerda, La Joya Palmview, 94
7. Silvia Barrientos, Mission High, 95
8. Alexis Gutierrez, McAllen High, 96
9. Adriana Gonzalez, McAllen Memorial, 98
T-10. Miranda Guerreero, McAllen Memorial, 101
T-10. Kathia Varela, McAllen Rowe, 101
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District 31-6A Tournament Meet
April 4, 2016
Tierra Santa Golf Course
First Round
Par = 72
Boys
Team Scores
1. Weslaco High, 291
2. PSJA North ‘A’, 329
3. Edinburg North, 363
4. Weslaco East, 375
5. Edinburg High, 391
6. PSJA North ‘B’, 438
7. Edinburg Economedes, 468
8. PSJA Memorial, 488
9. Edinburg North ‘B’, 495
Individual Scores
1. Austin Lackey, Weslaco High, 66
2. McLean Beckwith, Weslaco High, 74
3. Nathan Salazar, Weslaco High, 75
4. Quinlan Vos, Weslaco High, 76
5. Victor Gonzalez, PSJA North A, 77
6. Jacob Gil, Edinburg North, 79
7. Mathew Jasso, PSJA North A, 80
T-8. Andrew Cabrera, PSJA North A, 83
T-8. Bradley McCaleb, Weslaco High, 83
10. Gabriel Flores, Weslaco East, 85
Girls
Team Scores
1. Weslaco High ‘A’, 366
2. Edinburg North, 388
3. Edinburg Economedes, 401
4. Edinburg High, 412
5. Weslaco East, 413
6. PSJA Memorial ‘A’, 483
7. Weslaco High ‘B’, 493
8. PSJA North, 500
9. PSJA Memorial ‘B’, 553
Individual Scores
1. Anika Hovda, Weslaco High A, 73
T-2. Anna Palacios, Weslaco High A, 89
T-2. Selina Ozuna, Edinburg Economedes, 89
4. Mia Martinez, Edinburg Economedes, 90
5. Alex Sagredo, Edinburg North, 91
6. Alex Serrato, Edinburg North, 93
7. Beatriz Chavez, Edinburg High, 95
8. Landry Munoz, Weslaco East, 99
T-9. Natalie Marquez, Weslaco East, 101
T-9. Lissett Salinas, Edinburg High, 101
T-9. Vanessa Arevalo, Edinburg North, 101
T-9. Michelle Mata, Weslaco High A, 101
T-9. Karyme Medina, PSJA Memorial A, 101
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District 31-5A Tournament Meet
April 4, 2016
Shary Golf Course
First Round
Par = 72
Boys
Team Scores
1. Sharyland High ‘A’, 300
2. Edinburg Vela ‘A’, 312
3. Mission Veterans Memorial ‘A’, 326
4. Edinburg Vela ‘B’, 329
5. Sharyland High ‘B’, 363
6. Sharyland Pioneer, 374
7. Roma, 407
8. Mission Veterans Memorial ‘B’, 414
9. Rio Grande City, 434
Individual Scores
1. Jun Min Lee, Sharyland A, 67
2. Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans Memorial A, 72
3. Matthew Gonzalez, Sharyland A, 74
4. Mario Rios, Edinburg Vela A, 75
5. Albert Uriegas, Edinburg Vela A, 77
T-6. Bryan Navarro, Edinburg Vela A, 78
T-6. Hector Dominguez, Edinburg Vela B, 78
T-6. Aaron Martinez, Mission Veterans Memorial A, 78
9. Orlando Garcia, Sharyland Pioneer, 79
T-10. Victor Rodriguez, Sharyland A, 82
T-10. Jordan Olivarez, Edinburg Vela A, 82
Girls
Team Scores
1. Sharyland High ‘A’, 304
2. Sharyland Pioneer ‘A’, 337
3. Edinburg Vela, 373
4. Sharyland High ‘B’, 381
5. Mission Veterans Memorial, 449
6. Sharyland Pioneer ‘B’, 455
7. Roma, 492
Individual Scores
1. Mariana Flores, Sharyland A, 72
2. Carina Hernandez, Sharyland Pioneer A, 73
T-3. Ana Jose Erana, Sharyland A, 77
T-3. Laura Rodriguez, Sharyland A, 77
T-3. Linsey Garza, Sharyland Pioneer A, 77
6. Raquel Flores, Sharyland A, 78
7. Christina Shinn-Roldan, Sharyland A, 80
8. Annika Ellrott, Edinburg Vela, 82
9. Ariel Chavana, Edinburg Vela, 87
10. Carolina Cantu, Sharyland B, 89
11. Maria Guajardo, Sharyland Pioneer A, 93
12. Ashley Briseno, Sharyland Pioneer A, 94
13. Paulina Flores, Sharyland B, 94
14. Klarissa Farias, Mission Veterans Memorial, 95
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District 32-5A Tournament Meet
April 4, 2016
Tierra del Sol Golf Course
First Round
Par = 72
Boys
Team Scores
1. Edcouch-Elsa, 351
T-2. Mercedes ‘A’, 382
T-2. PSJA High, 382
4. Donna North, 383
T-5. Mercedes ‘B’, 484
T-5. Brownsville Pace, 484
7. Donna High, 503
8. PSJA Southwest, 521
Individual Scores
T-1. Canaan Vasquez, Edcouch-Elsa, 74
T-1. Jacob Flores, PSJA High, 74
3. Tomas Zamorano II, Donna North, 79
4. Justin Martinez, Edcouch-Elsa, 80
5. Daniel Pena, Donna North, 83
6. Timothy Tamez, Mercedes ‘A’, 84
7. Nicholas Reyes, Edcouch-Elsa, 94
8. Gavin Garcia, Mercedes ‘A’, 94
T-9. Eric Posadas, Mercedes ‘A’, 99
T-9. Isaac Rodriguez, PSJA High, 99
T-9. Reynaldo Jimenez, Brownsville Pace, 99
T-9. Alfredo Mireles, Mercedes ‘B’, 99
Girls
Team Scores
1. Edcouch-Elsa, 415
2. Mercedes, 422
3. PSJA High, 428
4. Donna North, 485
Individual Scores
T-1. Miranda Medrano, Edcouch-Elsa, 96
T-1. Kristi Villanueva, Donna North, 96
3. Michelle Medina, Mercedes, 98
4. Catherine Trevino, PSJA High, 101
5. Flor Rojas, Edcouch-Elsa, 104
6. Cameran Rodriguez, PSJA High, 105
7. Jaymee Gonzalez, Mercedes, 106
8. Meagan Nichols, Edcouch-Elsa, 107
9. Nathalie Lopez, Edcouch-Elsa, 108
T-10. Brianna Garcia, Mercedes, 109
T-10. Brianna Rivera, Mercedes, 109
T-10. Ronika Galvan, PSJA High, 109