Gill leads, Christian fires a 91

Galena High's Luxchmi Gill looks to be well on her way to winning the NIAA/U.S. Bank State championship.

Meanwhile Galena's girls are in second place and Ciarra Christian had a solid round, shooting a 91 to place her in a tie for 13th after the first round of the 4A state tournament on Tuesday at Thunder Canyon Country Club.

Gill shot a 1-over-par 73 on the 5,615-yard course. Gill leads Green Valley's Chelsea Pendleton by three strokes after Pendleton fired a 76. Gill fired a 2-over 38 on the front nine and a 1-under 35 on the back nine. Gill birdied the 382-yard, par-4 third hole, the 299-yard, par-4 13th hole and the 454-yard, par-5 15th hole.

Green Valley leads the team race, firing a 434. Galena is in second with a 467 and Bishop Gorman is in third with a 483. Galena's Michele Bick is also tied for 13th after firing a 91. Also for the Grizzlies, Nicole Pastrell fired a 97, Caitlin Mullins shot a 98, Kristin Weiland fired a 108 and Kalli Mannos shot a 115.

Carson coach Paul Croghan said he was pleased with Christian's round.

"She did all right," he said. "She could have done a little better. She was hitting the ball pretty well."

With a strong round in today's final round, Christian has a chance to place in the top 10. She was four strokes out of the top eight after Tuesday.

A strong finish would also give Christian confidence going into her senior year, Croghan said.