Posted: Mon, 10 May 2010 07:47 PM - 7,953 Readers

By: Jenny Dial

Amidst winds gusting up to 20 miles per hour at Jimmy Clay Golf Course on Monday, the Montgomery boys and girls golf teams found a way to put together two solid performances.

After Day 1 of the University Interscholastic League State Golf Championship, both the Montgomery boys and the Montgomery Gold girls teams are in second place in the team competition.

The boys, who finished second place at regionals after having to put together their best comeback in years, shot a 315 to finish in second place. Highland Park shot 309 to take the top spot.

The girls' Gold team had a nine-stroke lead on Lake Travis after the front nine, but struggled on the back, falling out of first place with a 319 team score. Lake Travis finished the day with a 318.

"The girls really struggled on the back nine today," Montgomery coach Rusty Herridge said. "So to only be down one stroke is better than I expected. They will have to correct that tomorrow."

There were not many low scores on Monday because of the windy conditions. Montgomery's Grant Schroeder finished in a four-way tie for second place with a three-over 75.

"That wind messed everyone up today," Schroeder said. "It made it a really difficult round of golf."

Herridge said the next round's score will need to be under 300 for the team to have a chance.

"The best always show up on Day 2," he said. "Highland Park isn't going to come here tomorrow and give it away."

The girls team is going for its ninth state title in the last 10 years. Herridge said a round like Monday's would not suffice.

"The last time we played like we did today on that back nine was in 2008 when we didn't win state," Herridge said, referring to the Bears' second-place finish that year. "Tomorrow will be interesting, to say the least."

The Huntsville boys finished with a team score of 337 and is in last place headed into Day 2. Barbers Hill's Morgan Wright shot a 78 on Monday and is tied for 10th place. Lamar Consolidated's Dylan Siebenaler shot an 81 and is tied for 21st. In the girl's individual race, Lamar Consolidated's Ryanne Haddow is tied for 14th place with Day 1 score of 83.

Medina Valley's Curtis Reed is leading the tournament with a two-under-par 70 on Day 1. On the girls' side, Del Valle's Elena Warren and Frisco Wakeland's Taylor Newlin both shot an even 72 to tie for the lead.

The final round of the tournament will start tomorrow at 8:05 a.m. at Jimmy Clay.