Carson High School's golf team got off to a rocking start on Friday, sweeping the top three individual places and just missing a school record en route to first-place finish in a six-way tourney at Genoa Lakes.
Carson shot 375 as a team, only two strokes off the school record for best team round. Josh Bratzler led the way with a 2-under par 70 to take top individual honors. Sophomore Nick Zappin followed with a 75. The highest score out of the Senators' top five was a 79.
"I came in hoping we could shoot 400 as a team, so this is a great start for us," Carson coach Paul Croghan said. "I'm real excited about this group."
The Senators lost only Daniel Timmons from a squad that went to the state tournament last spring.
Douglas took fourth overall with a team score of 428. Bishop Manogue was second at 409, followed by Whittell at 425.
Carson and Douglas return to action in their Division II opener on March 20 at Washoe Lakes Golf Course.
3A Golf
HAWTHORNE - Jim Kepler took first place individually, helping Dayton High School post a school-record score and take third at a 10-team tournament hosted by Mineral County.
The Dust Devils shot 417 as a team, finishing only 12 strokes behind winner North Tahoe and only eight off the pace of second-place Truckee. The previous standard for a Dayton team round had been 435, an improvement that pleased Dust Devil coach Shannon Wines.
"To beat teams like Lowry and Manogue is great," Wines said. "I thought we'd be good this year, and the numbers are starting to show it."
Kepler's score of 74 tied him with Watters of Truckee, but he won the tiebreaker. Justin Daw was 14th for Dayton with an 83, followed by Mike Janas with an 84.
Yerington was seventh as a team with a 476, while Fernley took ninth in 498. The Lions' Barry Stone was 13th with an 83.
Dayton returns all of its players from last season, and it still doesn't have any seniors. Kepler took 15th at state last season and the Dust Devils just missed qualifying for the state tournament.
"We've got a good chance this year, and we'll give it our best shot," Wines said.
