El Campo boys, girls face district tourney
Quinn advances to regionals with strong first-day outing
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley On To Regionals Chris Quinn advanced to the regional tournament after finishing with a 158stroke total Wednesday. He started off with a 75 in the first day.

El Campo will send one Ricebird to the regional golf tournament at Huntsville.

Chris Quinn finished with the second highest individual score and advanced to the next round in Tuesday and Wednesday's district golf tournament at River Pointe Golf Club at Richmond.

Though he finished 10th overall, eight individuals ahead of him were members of Seven Lakes' A and B teams who took first and second place in the team competition. Those boys will advance to regionals in teams. Foster's Garrett Sakhel and Quinn were the next two highest individuals.

Quinn finished with a 158-total for the two-day event.

"Chris did what he had to do," James Harp, El Campo's head golf coach, said. "Chris played well and maintained his composure. Chris has plenty of golf skill. He knows how to score. His biggest thing is keeping his composure and he did that well. He held on, didn't get rattled and did what it took for him to make it to region and here he goes."

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Nice Comeback Cullen Pickett bounced back from a slow start to the tournament with a great second day. He followed an 86-stroke outing with a 77 Thursday.

Harp said he was glad to get one of his golfers through to the next round.

"I felt going in that we had three golfers that had an individual chance at going to region - Jordan (McClain), Cullen (Pickett) and Chris. Every one of them has the game. They know how to play the game. They know what it takes to score."

McClain finished 12th with a 160 total - only two strokes away from a trip to Huntsville. Pickett finished tied for 14th with a 163-stroke total.

"Cullen, on his first day hit 86," Harp said. "Something changed from the Fall to the Spring. I don't know if it's because he got bigger and stronger. He's hitting the ball farther than he was last year. He's probably 20-30 yards on every club farther than where he was last year, which is fine if you continue to keep that accuracy. He lost that accuracy and you have to have that accuracy in golf. He played well the second day and shot 77, but it was a little too late.

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Iron Man Jordan McClain watches a shot sail in the second day of the district tournament. He shot an 80 on both days to finish 12th.

"Jordan played well both days. If he catches a break here or there, (he advances). I saw on Wednesday, he had two putts lip out. Those things happen. He hits one into the trees and instead of kicking out to the fairways, it kicks out of bounds. That's golf. Those things happen. It was unfortunate, but he played well and I'm proud of him."

Most coaches expected Seven Lakes' two teams to dominate the tournament. They did, but Foster and El Campo had a chance to challenge them.

After the first day was finished, it was possible for the Ricebirds to sneak up on Seven Lakes' B team and make a fight for second place.

"I kept telling the kids, 'We're underdogs looking at third and trying to catch Seven Lakes' B team,"' Harp said. "After the third day, we were 18 strokes out. They didn't realize that until I told them the next morning. By choice, I didn't want them to sleep on it overnight. That really wasn't that far-fetched to catch. It would have taken a great day from all five golfers. That didn't happen and so be it."

The girls team finished fifth overall. Samantha Benge led the Lady 'Birds with a 222 total and finished 19th.

Harp said he saw year-long improvement for a girls team comprised of several first-year players.

"The biggest thing we talked about early in the year was to show some improvement and for the girls to get better," Harp said. "They did. I was pleased with their learning. We still have a ways to go. Hopefully, they see what golf can bring to them and that is making friends, it's a career game and that you have to put a little bit into it to get something out.

"We need to increase our work habits. I think, once we do that, we have a (group) of girls that will be OK - maybe not next year, but maybe in two or three years down the road. I'm proud of them. They're a good bunch of girls and they've done everything I pretty much asked them to do. I think they're excited about golf. I would just like to see them put a little more work into it.

The following is a list of El Campo's results from the district tournament.

Boys

Team Results

1. Seven Lakes A, 587 (295, 292); 2. Seven Lakes B, 618 (312, 306); 3. Foster A, 652 (335, 317); 4. El Campo, 663 (330, 333); 5. Foster B, 717 (362, 355); 6. Bay City A, 757 (384, 373); Bay City B, 820 (421, 399).

El Campo Results

Quinn, 158 (75, 83); Jordan McClain, 160 (80, 80), Cullen Pickett, 163 (86, 77); Trey Krpec, 184 (89, 95); Tanner Howard, 175 (90, 85).

Girls

Team Results

1. Lamar Consolidated, 688 (345, 343); 2. Seven Lakes A, 714 (349, 365); 3. Foster, 802 (398, 404); 4. Seven Lakes B, 886 (429, 457); 5. El Campo, 933 (462, 471); 6. Bay City A, 937 (465, 472); 7. Bay City B, 1,022 (498, 524).

El Campo Results

Samantha Benge, 222 (107, 115); Samantha Zabodyn, 225 (113, 112); Kayla McCrary, 246 (119, 127); Paige Wallace, 256 (138, 118); Jamie Limmer, 249 (123, 126).