Gorman favored going into championship

special to vIEWBishop Gorman student Richard Pawlasek tees off at the Paiute Golf Resort during the Class 4A boys state golf tournament in 2006. Advertisement

The Bishop Gorman High School boys golf team was the probable favorite heading into today's Class 4A state championship tournament in Reno, and while Gaels coach Kelsey McCall said his team is prepared for the competition, he admitted that anything can happen.

"I think these guys are ready, and we understand what it's going to take, but there is some really good competition," McCall said. "We're ready, and all in all, if luck plays out evenly, we expect to do just fine. All our players are striking the ball real well lately. But the challenge is going to be doing it all in one day. If we had this competition for 10 days, there's no doubt we'd do well. But we have to put it together on the right day."

Today might be that day for the Gorman team, which finished fourth at state last season after winning the Sunset Regional. Last year's accomplishments were perhaps even sweeter considering the team had a large group of freshmen who exceeded expectations.

Those golfers are back this year, with a little more experience, and the team is anchored by seniors Richard Pawlasek and Vince Rivera, along with junior John Kennington.

"The sophomores have another year under their belt and they're playing well, but our seniors have been our most consistent, strongest golfers, and I expect them to continue to shoot in the mid-70s or below," McCall said. "But we have three other guys who can do the same thing."

The coach singled out the recent play of Kennington and sophomores Connor Morris and Rod Bigelow, noting the depth of talent on this Gaels squad could be a deciding factor in the playoffs.

"We've had several occasions this year where that's happened. We've had (several) players shooting (that low)," he said. "But I'm sure there are other teams that can say the same thing. We'll just have to wait and see who puts it all together."

With every player from last year's team returning in the hopes of going all the way to the state championship this season, the Gaels have been marked as something of a target all season. But McCall said his golfers don't mind the lofty expectations and have continued to play well under pressure all year.

"I don't think that has affected them," he said. "We don't mind if people want to put us out there in front. There are probably three teams that can win regionals and maybe four or five in contention to win state, but like I said, you still have to put it all together. It's easier said than done. You still have to go out and execute. We've really tried to focus on us, on what we're doing, and just count on everything being even. We know what we should do. We just have to go out and do it."