Wind will help set course for area’s best

Nick Christensen

Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 9:02 a.m.

With temperatures nearing 90 degrees this week, the high school boys' golf season is beginning just as the girls' season ended -- unseasonably warm.

But it will not be the heat that tells the tale of the boys' golf season, set to begin next week, it's the wind. With regional tournaments scheduled at the out-in-the-open courses at Siena and the Las Vegas Paiute Reservation, and the 4A state tournament at the similarly exposed Aliante Golf Club, the team that can keep the ball low throughout the year may have the best shot at success.

"We coach the wind," Palo Verde coach Jeff Wolfram said. "We tell the kids from day one, 'When we have tryouts, I pray the wind blows, because that's what we're going to play in.' Of course, we had a qualifier and the wind didn't blow a spit."

Foothill coach J.D. Fraser said that it is tough to get young men to resist the urge to pound the ball in the wind.

"You teach them to play knockdowns, teach them to hit the ball low," Fraser said. "It's not really an easy adjustment to make. It's just not easy for kids to accept it. Most of today's kids, they want to hit it the way they're going to hit it. It costs them, but they don't care about it."

Wolfram's Panthers, along with Bonanza, Sierra Vista and Bishop Gorman, figure to be the best teams from the strong Sunset Region.

"Palo Verde's going to be real good, they're pretty deep, and Sierra Vista, this will be the best year they've had," Bonanza coach Dan Wieser said. "I think the top three teams in Sunset will be us, Palo Verde, and Sierra Vista."

Bonanza is led by Wieser's son, Joe, and junior Aaron Slonim, who both tied for sixth place in last year's state tournament at Sparks' Red Hawk Golf Club. Palo Verde's Sean Kim and Christian Garcia will also look to unseat the defending state medalist, Bishop Gorman senior Johnny Pinjuv.

Across town, Pinjuv will face pressure from defending Sunrise Region champion Brad Thompson of Las Vegas, the heavy favorite on the east side to make a run at state. Also expected to compete from the Sunrise are Green Valley's Adam Tebbs and Tyler Klimas, Basic's Dustin Borum, and Foothill's Kyle Tickner.

Coronado coach Joe Sawaia feels his team will be able to compete well, despite the graduation of Matt Edwards, who now plays for UNLV. Green Valley and Las Vegas also figure to be players in the Sunrise.

"Some of these schools don't have the depth to put around some of these better players," Sawaia said. "I don't think our region stacks up with the other region, I think the strongest teams are on the (Sunset) side, but I think we'll battle it out with Green Valley for sure."

And with Green Valley comes a wild card in the return of successful coach Del Sagers, who led Green Valley to three boys' championships and four girls' championships in his earlier tenure with the Gators.

"I was getting bored, and I wanted to get back in with the kids," Sagers said.