Guayante leading #4 Apaches on links

The late season losses of Adriel Arana and JJ Olmos from the Nogales High golf team really put the Apaches behind the eight ball after the first round of 4A-I Kino Region play Wednesday at Torres Blancas Golf Course in Green Valley.

Arana is said to have quit the team for personal reasons, while Olmos became academically ineligible before running into legal troubles.

That meant trouble for the Apaches Wednesday, which finished fourth out of the five teams in their region with a 355.

Leading the pack was Cienega (319), followed by Marana (337) and Sahuaro (339). Desert View pulled up the rear in the first round with a 440.

“It’s kind of disappointing,” Apaches coach David Jimenez said. “I’m bummed out. We didn’t expect Marana to come in second today. We didn’t expect fourth. We were looking at maybe second or third.”

Nogales No. 2 Gilberto Guayante’s 82, though, may help his team rebound in regional action, and qualify for state�”especially if he scored well again yesterday in the second round, which finished after Nogales International press time.

According to Jimenez, it will take more than that, though.

That more would be Adan Lopez and Franky Sainz getting back on track after under-average rounds Wednesday. They both shot 89s, but needed mid- to low-80 scores yesterday to put themselves and the team in state contention.

The team also needed the duo Raul Parra (95) and Bobby Woods (104) to pick up the pace. In essence, that pair is replacing Arana and Olmos in the team’s top 5.

Arana and Olmos averaged 40 and 44, respectively, throughout the regular season on nine holes of play. If you double those scores for regional 18-hole action, it gives Nogales an 80 and 88 or 31 less points, which would put them within five points of Cienega.

“It would have been much better with (Arana and Olmos there),” Jimenez said. “We would have been competing for second place.”

Although it wasn’t quite clear what problems Nogales had Wednesday, Jimenez’s best observation told him that driving and chipping is what hurt his Apaches.

“They have to shoot like they want to go to state,” he said. “For Lopez, this is his last year �- but their attitudes say they will shoot better tomorrow. But, it’s one thing to say it and it’s another thing to do it.”

To find out if the Apaches did it, see Tuesday’s Nogales International for final 4A-I Kino Region results.

State is slated for Monday and Tuesday at Randolph Golf Course in Tucson.