PAHRUMP - John Chirilla shot his way into the lead and Carson High School stands fourth after the first day of the Cal-Vada/Pahrump Invitational boys golf tournament on Friday.
Carson shot a four-player total of 304 on a 75-degree day, leaving the Senators only five strokes out of the lead midway through the 36-team tournament being held at the Cal-Vada Golf Country Club.
Perennial Southern 4A power Green Valley leads the pack with a 299 score on the par-71 course, two strokes better than Garces Memorial of Bakersfield, Calif.
Durango, another Las Vegas power, was third at 303, followed by Carson and Bishop Gorman (314). Durango and Green Valley finished second and third, respectively, at last year's Nevada 4A state tournament.
"I believe this is the best we've ever been down here," Carson coach Paul Croghan said. "The best of the Vegas schools are here, and so are some good schools from San Diego. This is a good field. This is going to give us a good early look at how we stand with the teams down South."
Chirilla shot 1-under par 70 to earn a share of the lead on the individual leaderboard. Chirilla carded one birdie to finish even-par on the front nine and he had three birdies on the back nine.
"That's a good score. It's the best individual showing we've ever had there," Croghan said.
Three other Senators were close behind as Nick Zappin shot 76, while Toby Steele and Josh Bratzler followed at 79.
"This is the first time we've had four guys in the 70s, and we've been coming to this tournament now for six or seven years, maybe more," Croghan said.
The tournament concludes today with an 8 a.m. shotgun on the par-59 Cal-Vada executive course.