Trio of freshmen end first day of state golf tournament in top 10

Big moments in sports tend to favor upperclassmen and seasoned veterans.

Clark’s Riana Mission, Centennial’s McKenzi Hall and Arbor View’s Kyndall Newman never got that memo heading into Monday’s Class 4A state girls golf tournament.

The freshmen trio concluded the opening round at Highland Falls in the top 10, and will look to play spoiler against a sea of experienced golfers at the same 5,579-yard course on Tuesday.

Palo Verde’s Annick Haczkiewicz leads the pack at 3-under-par 69. The Brigham Young-bound senior, who won an individual state title in 2015, finished her opening round with five birdies to move out front.

Mission (71) and Hall (72) are in second and third place, respectively, and Newman (77) is tied in 10th.

“First time at state as a freshman — and you shoot in the 70s — it’s fabulous,” said David Fish, the Southern Nevada Golf Coaches Association executive director who is administering the two-day event. “Knowing that you’re going against girls that are older and shooting in the low 70s, it’s a lot of pressure for your first time. …

“It’s kind of nice to see a new wave that is going to pick it back up and move the sport forward.”

Following a 2-over start after 10 holes, Mission birdied three of her last five holes to go into the clubhouse under par.

“I just knew I needed to bounce back from that (front nine) and move on,” said Mission, who hopes to become Clark’s first state winner since 1978. “Once I hit the back nine, it was a new nine and new opportunity with different holes.”

Hall finished with three birdies to help Centennial move into second place in the team standings. Three-time defending state champion Coronado sits in first place at 6-over 294, ahead of Centennial (317), Reno (329), Palo Verde (331), Bishop Gorman (336) and Carson (393).

Hall, who narrowly missed out on a few more birdies Monday, said her game is coming together at the right time. She will have a chance to become the Bulldogs’ first individual state champion since Alex Borcherts in 2007 on Tuesday.

“Last week, nothing was going together. I wasn’t hitting it good,” Hall said. “But it was working (today). I was confident coming in. On Saturdays, I usually do my lessons so I worked on everything then and fixed it.”

Coronado’s Gabby DeNunzio and Victoria Estrada — the reigning state champ — each shot a 73 and are tied in fourth place. Cougars teammates Sami Penor and Crystle Querol are tied in sixth, along with Gorman’s Hunter Pate, at 74.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow @af_ferguson on Twitter.