Marble Falls golf wins Belton Invitational

CAPTION: The Marble Falls High School boys golf team won the Fifth Annual Belton ISD Invitational 4A Division I golf tournament March 26 with a team score of 313. The Mustangs are John Srnensky (left), who shot a 79, Beckett Berkman, who scored an 88, Camilo Montez, who finished with a 77, Drew Whittle, who shot a 77 to finish fifth in the individual standings, and Gage Goebel, who scored an 80. Marble Falls will compete in the District 24-4A Tournament at the Legends Golf Course and Villas Wednesday and Thursday, April 1-2. Courtesy photo

The Marble Falls High School boys golf team recently captured the Fifth Annual Belton Independent School District Invitational 4A Division I championship March 26 thanks to shooting a 313.

Drew Whittle and Camilo Montez paced the team by each scoring a 77, though Whittle took fifth in the individual standings thanks to winning a scorecard playoff. Other team members are Johns Srnensky, who shot a 79, Gage Goebel, who finished with an 80, and Beckett Berkman, who scored an 88.

Head coach Adley Canales indicated there’s plenty to like about these Mustangs, who also took third at the Huntsville Invitational at Bearkat Course at Sam Houston State University during the two-day event.

“They were doing whatever it took to make sure the team was successful in putting us in a good situation,” he said. “They weren’t taking risks, they were playing smart, they were taking advantage of holes when the opportunities presented themselves. But they weren’t pushing and forcing shots and it showed in the results. We had four scores 80 or better. We won by five strokes.”

In fact the Mustangs were so good at Belton that only Waco Midway and Belton high schools scored lower. Organizers cut the field in half to create two divisions Class 4A and under and Classes 5A and 6A.

“That’s against some really good competition,” the coach said.

The important part of competing in Huntsville is that it is the site of the Class 4A Region III tournament. Only China Spring and Sour Lake Hardin-Jefferson scored lower than the Mustangs.

“We wanted to just to see the course before district,” the coach said. “And then if we’re lucky enough to advance and play at regionals, we wanted the boys to have an opportunity to see the course and play it before we get to the regional tournament.”

The Mustangs are turning their attention to the District 24-4A tournament, which is at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, April 1-2, at the Legends Golf Course and Villas in Kingsland, which also is the site of the Class 4A state tournament.

“The boys have a good shot to be real competitive and giving themselves a chance to win a district title,” Canales said. “They’ve been playing good golf leading up to it. We feel confident going into it, but still gotta show up and play and execute the shots that are required each day. And we may get some weather Thursday. So there’s a lot of factors that go into it, but we feel confident being able to play team golf and give ourselves the best shot.”