That score left them just nine strokes behind first place Medina Valley, but it also left them sitting in sixth place as the opening round saw several good scores.
“There was some good golf out there,” Gatesville coach Guy Dean said. “A 304 last year would have been in medal position; now it’s just sixth. But the good thing is we aren’t far back and these guys are capable of shooting in the 290s.”
Freshman Jake Truss made the most of his first round at the state tournament, carding a 75, five strokes off the lead.
“He can play good golf,” Dean said. “It’s a matter of gaining confidence. You get some confidence, you start putting better, make better reads, etc… He teed it up on the first hole and just hit a nice drive right down the middle and he had about four or five birdies.”
Sophomore Chance Cathey was one behind Truss with a 76 and juniors Aaron Massey and Hunter Abbott both had 77. Sophomore Preston Timmons rounded out the team with an 84 in his first round at state.
“Each of the guys wishes they could have some shots back,” Dean said. “But everybody played pretty good. Hopefully we will be better tomorrow. We can’t expect to shoot a 280, but we can shoot a 295 and everyone else kind of pressures themselves."
