West's Trevor Vega chips on to the green in the final round of the District 30-4A tournament.
West boys secure district title by four strokes
Originally published April 5, 2011 at 11:06 p.m., updated April 5, 2011 at 11:06 p.m.
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FRANK TILLEY/FTILLEY@VICAD.COM
East's Ali Cowen chips a shot on the seventh hole during the final day of play at the District 30-4A golf tournament.
Trenton Lee tried high school baseball, and didn't like it.
So, two years ago, he turned to golf.
"Baseball didn't trigger my eye," he said. "So I went to golf. I'd always done it, just not consistently. I'd played baseball all my life."
Before that, he hadn't played golf all that often.
"You know, weekends with my dad," said the West junior.
The District 30-4A golf tournament was the culmination of a lot of hard work by Lee, who posted rounds of 82 and 85 to finish fourth overall. He helped the Victoria West boys secure a district title by four strokes over second place Gregory-Portland.
"I've been practicing a lot the last two weeks," he said. "It just all fell into place."
His teammates knew he had the ability to shoot scores in the low 80s. It just took a little time for it to really show.
"He came through at the right time," said junior golfer Trevor Vega. "He was very clutch. We knew he had it in him all year, it was just him putting it together at the right time.
"He's just a natural. He has a good swing, and everything just works out."
Part of that comes from his baseball background. Swinging a bat and swinging a golf club, Lee said, are similar to one another.
"It's pretty much the same swing as baseball, so I had that going for me," he said. "It's all about getting the right mechanics going for me."
But all that sweet swings and clutch play don't guarantee a district title.
West entered the day with a six-stroke lead over Gregory-Portland, and the Wildcats' golfers tried their best to catch up.
As the golfers came off the course, the West team was huddling trying to figure out who had won, and what had happened. The Warriors ended up finishing with a four stroke lead, taking first place.
Lee conceded that those moments were a touch on the nerve-wracking side.
"Especially at the end, the nerves kicked in. We were playing for first place," he said.
VEGA TAKES TOP BOYS MEDALIST
Trevor Vega thought he'd shot the ball long. He reacted with disgust and turned away.
He missed his shot landing directly in the hole on the 18th green, a rare swish of a golf shot from 130 yards out for eagle.
"I turned around and everyone was screaming," said the junior golfer. "It didn't even touch the cup, it just went in."
Vega put himself well ahead of the field with a strong opening round, and finished off Tuesday with a good second round to take the top boys medalist spot.
He wasn't as concerned about that as he was about the team's chances. He knew G-P golfers Trevor Garbe and Mishuan Bhakta were capable of low scores.
"Not really, they could go low at any point," "It seems like they could flip a switch and go low if they wanted to, but we were able to withstand their pushes."
Shooting even par certainly helps. Vega turned in two of the three lowest rounds of the tournament, with an opening day even-par 72 and a second day 5-over 77.
"I shot well today, I just got a lot of breaks going my way yesterday," he said.
COWAN TAKES TOP GIRLS QUALIFIER
The second round was almost a formality for Ali Cowan. The East sophomore had jumped out to a commanding nine stroke lead with an astonishing 1-under 71 on Tuesday.
Her nearest competition was teammate Briana Reyes, who shot an first round 80.
"Yesterday, my irons were working for me," she said. "I was getting close to the hole so I didn't have to work to hard with my short game. I was a little more tense today, my irons weren't working for me and it reflected in my score."
Despite shooting an 82 on the second day, Cowan cruised to the top spot.
QUALIFIERS
For the girls, Victoria East and West swept into the two team spots, both finishing well ahead of G-P. For the boys, West took the top spot and was joined by G-P.
The East boys as a team did not qualify for the Region IV-4A tournament, but the team will be sending two, as individual medalists. Senior Westin Hall shot rounds of 83 and 85, getting him third overall and a medalist spot.
He will be joined by Josh Moya, who bounced back from an opening round 94 with 83 on Tuesday.
For the girls, one of the two medalist spots went to East's Lindsey Crabb, who shot a two day score of 194.
DISTRICT 30-4A GOLF TOURNAMENT
Victoria Country Club
Round 2 - April 5, 2011
BOYS
Victoria West A, 328-336 - 664: Trevor Vega 72-77 - 149; Shannon Hawes 83-93 - 176; Klayton Koch 91-82 - 173; Trenton Lee 82-85 167; Colton Escamilla 93-92 - 185.
Gregory-Portland 334-334 - 668: Trevor Garbe 80-83 - 163; Mishaun Bhakta 80-82 - 162; Jon Solle 84-84 - 168; Josh Glasson 90-85 - 175; Andy Polasek 101-103 - 204.
Victoria East A 359-371 - 730: Weston Hall 83-85 - 168; Sammy Ray Hysquierdo 90-91 - 181; Aaron McAfee 93-96 - 189; Bryan Doane 93-103 - 196; Chad Williams 93-99 - 192.
Victoria West B +85 373: Reid Elder 90-89--179; Cabott Hanes 97-88--185; Wade Strickland 91-94--185; Cheyenne Graef 95-92--187; Thomas Koehne 120-114--234.
Calhoun 391-419 - 810: Greyson Parker 92-95 - 197; Ryan Johnson 98-102 - 200; Colton Willoughby 102-117 - 219; Mason Elgin 99-105 - 204; Tom Tomlinson 108-126 - 234.
Victoria East B 399-397 - 796: Darrin Butler 106-105 - 210; Andrew Barnett 103-101 - 204; Luke Blundell 96-108 - 204; Josh Moya 94-83 - 177.
Beeville 390-371 - 761: James Scotten 91-93 - 184; Garrett Bond 94-88 - 182; D. Fernandez 110-110 - 220; James Larakers 108-89 - 197; Kelsey Wright 97-101 - 198.
Floresville 412-400 - 812; Steven Hix 92-88 - 180; Chuck Garza 98-95 - 193; Blake Popham 131-125 - 256; Kodie McClure 107-97 - 204; Gary Smith 115-120 - 235.
Medalists: Aaron Zapalac (VW) 131-121--252; Kyle Harrison (G-P) 104-88--192; Mat Warzecka (CAL) 114-127--241; J. Richie (FLO) 91-97--188.
GIRLS
Victoria East 342-362 - 704: Ali Cowan 71-82 - 153; Briana Reyes 80-94 - 174; Jackie Gonzales 92-92 - 184; Cassidy Hoad 99-94 - 193; Tessa Lev 100-101 - 201.
Victoria West 379-379 - 758: Ashley Weaver 85-87 - 172; Mallorie Gabbert 109-102 - 211; Meagan Neuman 93-91 - 184; Morgan Park 102-99 - 201; Tara Goetz 99-104 - 203.
Gregory Portland 414-420 - 834: Holly Wright 97-96 - 193; Courtney Crawford 104-106 - 210; Liz Murry 114-108 - 222; Cynthia Rodriguez 99-110 - 209; Erika Max 131-114 - 245.
Victoria East B 421-419 - 840: Lindsey Crabb 98-96 - 194; Brittany Hubbard 102-104 - 206; Claire Vivian 115-109 - 224; Haley Dvorak 106-110 216.
Floresville 487-506 - 993: Katy Eaton 114-118 - 232; Lynette Quiroga 103-141 - 244; Katherine Burkett 133-118 - 251; Cora Mikoiajczyk 141 - 129 - 270; Kaitlin Labua 137-144 - 281.
Calhoun NC: Precille Cardona 100-99 - 199; Darbi Dowell 118-114 - 232; Justine Herrera 137-122 - 259.
Medalists: Anisa Cantu (BEE) 117-116 - 233: Stephanie Simons (FLO) 122-116 - 238; Emily Head (FLO) 119-111 - 230; Kayla Bowland (VW) 106-104 - 210.
Comments
GolfFather says...
Congrats Josh! Not bad for picking up the game in less than a year. Congrats on the HOLE IN ONE on Monday.
April 6, 2011 at 3:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )