McALLEN — Marissa Loya shot a 2-under 70 to lead all golfers and help give San Antonio Reagan a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Region IV-6A Girls Golf Tournament on Monday at Palm View Golf Course.
As a team, Reagan shot a day’s best 298 to hold a slim margin over Austin Westlake at 299. Austin Lake Travis (302), San Antonio Johnson (306) and Austin Vandegrift (307) round out the top five. The tournament concludes today. Four golfers shot sub-80 rounds for Reagan, while the fifth shot 80. All five golfers for Westlake came in under 80.
Loya holds a one-stroke lead over Lake Travis’ Kate Pickrell and Vandegrift’s Sydney Givens. They were the only two golfers to score under par, while two others sit at an even-72.
Los Fresnos, the program’s “Maroon” team, finished the day tied for sixth with Smithson Valley at 330. Junior Allison McGinnis led the Falcons with a 78, while teammate Natali Barrera, a senior, scored a 79. The top three teams and the top three individuals not on those teams will advance to the state tournament. Barrera and McGinnis are the sixth and eighth lowest-scoring girls golfers in the Valley at 79.44 and 82.50, respectively.
The team’s top-scoring golfer during the season, junior Gabriana Garrido, shot an 84 but caught fire during the second nine with a 37.
“I think it was the anticipation of these past two years to finally get to this point, and they started out a bit slow,” Los Fresnos coach Luis Gonzalez said. “They made great turnarounds, though, to get those scores in. Today, it was about learning to let the game flow and the scores will come.
“I have no doubt they will show what they can do tomorrow. I told them to stay focused and their vision and plan for this course is still alive and to stick with it and see what happens.”
The Valley’s scoring leader for the second straight year, Edinburg High senior Madi Ozuna shot a 76, 2 1/2 strokes off her 73.50 average round for the season. The Bobcats, who won the District 31-6A championship by three strokes over Edinburg Vela, is in 15th with a 396, while Vela is 12th with a 381, led by Erika Romero’s 88. Weslaco High, led by Jazlyn Segura’s 82, is 16th at 407.
Harlingen High’s Isabella Bullock shot a 78, Los Fresnos junior Jennifer Laznovsky, shot an 85, coming off a 74 at the district tournament. Abigail Martinez from PSJA High shot a 90. Edinburg North’s Karen Izaguirre shot 102. All three of those girls are among the individuals who advanced from their district tournaments. Laznovsky played for the Los Fresnos “B” team.
The Region IV-6A boys tournament begins Wednesday, also at Palm View.
The Class 6A girls state golf tournament will be held May 10-11 at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown.