Las Vegas, Nev.–At Aliante Golf Club, there was an epic reversal of fortunes following the 2022 Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Southern Zone Regional High School Golf Championship. Gorman class of 2024 RJ Arone got up and down to save par on the 18th hole in the final group and Coronado class of 2022 Thomas Chung made a clutch 20-footer for double bogey on the same hole to ensure a playoff. Immediately following the event, Gorman was declared the winner by second-round team score tiebreaker, but the following day it was determined the fifth man’s score should have been used, which gave Coronado the surprising title. –By Brian Hurlburt, Founder, LasVegasGolfInsider.com.
Chung (photo, above), the individual champion, recorded rounds of 67-69 in windy conditions, even with the untimely double bogey on the 18th hole. Chung made the most of a difficult situation and never gave up on the final hole.
“Winning the individual title feels really good, but I’m kind of speechless right now,” Chung said. “It’s kind hard to explain because the wind definitely affected me a lot, both days, just like it did for everyone.”
The Coronado team consisted of Brett Sawaia, Ian Fritz, Chung, Trey Repetti, Darren Hung and Jack Bennett. Sawaia, a UNLV commit, finished third individually. Hung shot 79 as the fifth player to earn Coronado the victory.
The Gorman team consisted of Avery Lazarski, Arone, Emmanuel Dela Cruz, Dominic Massi, Jay Carr and Daniel Golin.
Coronado, Gorman and Shadow Ridge advanced to the Nevada State High School Golf Championships at Coyote Springs May 17-18. Also in the field are the top three teams from Northern Nevada, Golena, Bishop Manogue and Reno High. The top six individuals from the Southern Region not on a qualifying team also advanced. Those golfers were Andrew Hawk, Caden Gambini, Mason Snyder, Troy Mason, Joshua Chiu and Monty Niu.
Nevada Southern Zone High School Golf Championship Team Results
* Won second-round total score playoff over Gorman
Bold – advanced to Nevada State High School Golf Championships
Coronado*, +14
Bishop Gorman, +14
Shadow Ridge, +28
Palo Verde, +47
Foothill, +48
Desert Oasis, +92
NIAA 5A Southern Region High School Golf Championship & Finishes
1 – Tommy Chung, -8
2 – Andrew Hawk, -7
3 – Brett Sawaia, -3
4 – Avery Lazarski, -2
5 – RJ Arone, Even
6 – Caden Gambini, +2
7 – Mason Snyder, +4
8 – Nicholas Kilgore, +5
9 – William Dexheim, +6
T10 – Kyle Guloy, +7
T10 – Troy Mason, +7
12 – Jay Carr, +8
T13 – Bridger Johnson, +10
T13 – Joshua Chiu, +10
15 – Monty Niu, +11
T15 – Ian Fritz, +13
T17 – Daniel Golin, +15
T17 – Darren Hung, +15
T17 – Trey Repetti, +15
T20 – Brendan Barbeau, +17
T20 – Jack Bennett, +17
T22 – Dominic Massi, +18
T22 – Nolan Wilson, +18
T24 – Aidan Sobers, +19
T24 – Brandon Goh, +19
T24 – Chance Gambini, +19
T24 – Emmanuel Dela Cruz , +19
T24 – Vance Bushmire, +19
T29 – Adam Bennett, +20
T29 – Carson Craig, +20
31 – Kade Wakenhut, +21
32 – Dylan Sobers, +22
33 – Riccardo Peccini, +23
T34 – Andrew Hawkins, +28
T34 – Jordan Sabelberg, +28
T36 – Cody Dao, +29
T36 – Zachary Stout, +29
38 – Colton Pash, + 30
39 – Tyler Kuhn, + 31
T40 – Logan Shanks, +32
T40 – Seamus Byrn, +32
42 – Noah Pryor, +36
43 – Matt Thow, +51