The Rio Rico High School boys golf team beat the Crismon Rattlers 190 to 230 on Tuesday at the Tubac Golf Resort, raising their season record to 3-1.
The Hawks were led by freshman Nicolas Castro with a score of 38. He shot par on seven of the nine holes and bogeyed the other two.
Castro’s brother, sophomore Noah Castro, birdied the par-4 first hole and shot par on three others on his way to a final score of 42.
Next on the Hawks’ scorecard was junior Tiziano Coil, who finished at 54. His best hole was the fourth, which he finished on par at four strokes.
Gerardo Ocampo, a senior, rounded out the scoring with a 56.
Senior David Ramirez would have been in the mix as well, but Crismon brought only four golfers and so Ramirez played a practice round with junior Tiffany Lopez instead.
Rio Rico Coach Ramon Barraza said there were no big surprises in his players’ scores on Tuesday.
“Individually, we pretty much stayed at par with where we’ve been this season,” he said.
Speaking of the Castro brothers, Barraza said: “Noah and Nick have pretty much consistently been between 38 and low 40s, so they’ve been really consistent… We’re looking for them to just break out and start shooting a couple of strokes under for the next couple of matches.”
The coach said he’s also looking for Coil and Ocampo to make a jump after starting the season by shooting consistently in the 50s.
“I’m looking forward to what the rest of the season is going to bring for us because these guys have a lot of talent,” Barraza said, adding that the hope is that a couple of Hawks players can qualify for the state championship tournament.
The RRHS golf program has 19 players officially registered this season, and Barraza said he was “really, really happy” with the turnout.
Six players are on the varsity squad, with a number of beginners competing at the junior varsity level.
“I’m looking forward to the next couple of years to have a couple of those guys bump up and make an effort and make a contribution to the team,” Barraza said.
Several girls showed interest in competing this year, but Lopez was the only one to get her paperwork turned in on time. Still, the level of interest was encouraging for the coach. “For next year, we might even be able to put a girls team together,” he said.
The Hawks are set to play their next match in Tucson on Sept. 6, when they take on Amphitheater and Cholla.
