Gulliver Prep’s Chris Nido fourth after Day 1 of Class 1A golf state tournament
The day started with a dampness in the air. Then came a slight drizzle, followed by a heavy drizzle. Next, a heavy rain that finally halted the first day of the state Class 1A golf championship for 40 minutes.
Those were tough conditions for the South Florida contingents on hand to cope with — but then again, it was tough for nearly everyone.
When the day’s competition was completed, a majority of the players from all over the state traipsed off the course a little soggy and a little disappointed in their scores.
Carrollton coach Armando Echeverria, who saw his team in 13th place after the first of two days of play, did an admirable job of putting the inclement weather into perspective.
“This would be a beautiful day in Scotland,” he said with a smile. “Heck, it would be a beach day over there.”
Despite the wind and rain, there were some notable moments for South Florida players:
▪ In the boys’ competition, Gulliver Prep’s Chris Nido, a junior, was only three shots off the lead and tied for fourth individually with a 1-over 73. And really making his day come up aces was his first hole-in-one on the 145-yard, par-3 eighth hole.
Nido took out a 9-iron and lofted the shot, and then watched — even a bit stunned — as a little luck kicked in.
“The ball hit the flag, not the stick, and went past the hole and then spun back into the cup.”
The hole-in-one was Nido’s first.
▪ Also looking strong were the North Broward Prep girls, led by Hannah Leiner with a 1-over 73 and Virginia Paglialunga with a 74, as they held down fourth place. There is no doubt that in Wednesday’s second round North Broward doesn’t have a chance to catch first-place Lake Mary Prep (284), but being in fourth place halfway through was a more-than-strong effort.
▪ Ransom Everglades’ Jake Beber-Frankel, only an eighth-grader, also put on an impressive show Tuesday as he competed for the most part against many players much, much older than him. Beber-Frankel shot a 5-over 77 to tie for 19th.
Echeverria wasn’t even disappointed with his team’s 13th-place standing.
“It’s a tough, narrow course,” he said, “and the conditions were difficult — the rain making you wear two gloves and things like that. The girls held up pretty good. We were 12th last year and we’re trying to get inside the top 10 this year.
“Overall, them being in a state tournament, I just want them to take it all in and enjoy it.”
Boys’ Results: 1. Lake Mary Prep, 301; 2. Winter Park Circle Christian, 311; 3. Windermere Prep, 314; 4. (tie) Jacksonville Bolles, Perry Taylor County, 315. 10. Gulliver Prep; 13. (tie) Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest. 1. Thomas Allkins (Lake Mary Prep) 70; 2. Justin Wynen, Bradenton St. Stephen’s 71; Andrew Kozan, WPB King’s Academy 72; 4. (tie) Chris Nido (Gulliver Prep), Tony Jiang (Sarasota Christian), Greyson Porter, St. Pete Shorecrest, 73. Other top Dade-Broward: 19. (tie) Jake Beber-Frankel, 77; 43. (tie) Roman Lopez (Gulliver Prep), Miles Castoro (Fort Lauderdale Pinecrest) 81.
Girls’ Results: 1. Lake Mary Prep, 284; 2. Windermere Prep, 289; 3. Winter Park Circle Christian, 297; 4. Delray Beach American Heritage, 321; 5. North Broward Prep, 322. 13. Miami Carrollton, 371. 1. Gabriela Coello, Windermere Prep, 67; (tie) 2. Kelsey Zeng, Orlando First Academy, Mimi Chen, Lake Mary Prep, 68; 4. Latanna Stone, Cambridge, 70; 5. (tie) Amy Zhang, Lake Mary Prep, Wenyan Ma, Windermere Prep, 71. Other top Dade-Broward: 10. (tie) Hannah Leiner, North Broward Prep, 73; 13. Virginia Paglialunga, North Broward Prep, 74; 21. (tie) Alicia Cappellaro, Doral Divine Savior, 76; 21. (tie) Samantha Haubenstock, Fort Lauderdale Pinecrest, 76; (tie) 42. Tanya Eathakotti, Miami Carrollton, 80.
This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 11:48 PM with the headline "Gulliver Prep’s Chris Nido fourth after Day 1 of Class 1A golf state tournament."