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Sept 29, 2001
BY JIM THOMAS Shea Sena, only a sophomore at Montezuma-Cortez High School, will be making his first appearance at the Class 4A State Golf Championships set for this Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 1-2, a Spring Valley Golf Course in Elizabeth. It took a playoff at last week’s Class 4A Regionals for Sena to qualify as an individual for the tournament. Sena, who lost in a playoff last year to just miss out on a state berth, sank his knee-knocker putt to earn the final spot at Tiara Rado in Grand Junction. He got in a lot of practice this past week at his home course, Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez. He and MCHS head coach Randy (Jack) Jacobson left today, Sept. 29, for Elizabeth. They will join Jacobson’s son, who has played the course several times, on Sunday, Sept. 30, for a practice round. Sena has never played the course. The 36-hole tournament opens Monday morning, Oct. 1, and concludes Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 2. The competitors will tee off from the Blue Tees.The course will play a bit short at approximately 6,500 yards. "I would say the best part of Shea’s game is his short irons," Jacobson said. "He also is very consistent with his driving." Jacobson believes for Sena to well, he has got to play his own game and not worry about what the others in his foursome are doing. "He has got to concentrate on what he’s doing and not worry about anybody else. If he gets a bad hole, he’s got to forget about it and move on. For the most part, he plays with his head," Jacobson remarked. Sena won four 4A division tournaments including two overall at Gunnison and Cortez (4A and 5A players competing) during the regular season. "I’m looking forward to competing at State this year, especially since I missed out last year," Sena said. "I hope I can make a good showing. I hope I play better than I did at Regionals." Sena feels he hits his wedge and woods about the best. "When I pull my long irons out off the tee, then sometimes I can get in trouble. I also like hitting my short irons (7 on down). I feel like I’m a pretty good putter. The worst part of my game is hitting long irons (2-4). Sometimes I get too hard on myself if I make a bad shot or have a bad hole," he commented. He first took up the game when he was 10 years old. At about age 12, he realized he could really play the game. From then on, the game has become his passion. Sena is 15 now. "He is very mature for his age," Jacobson noted. "Because of that, he should do well even against some juniors and seniors he will be playing against. He is very dedicated and works hard." Sena almost lived at the golf course this past summer. "I probably missed only a day all summer when I was not at the golf course. I would be out here from about 7 a.m. until dark (around 9 p.m.) I would play a lot. I would work on driving, putting, and all other parts of my game. I worked out here, which helped," Sena reported. "He is a player. A player will play four or five hours every day," Jacobson added. Sena is a good student with a 3.75 grade point average. Currently he’s taking world history, biology, body building, and speech. He is the son of Melinda and Dante Sena. His brother, Devin, is a senior who plays running back and linebacker for the MCHS football team. Jacobson was already talking about next year. "Next year we should be greatly improved. We will have Keenan who will be returning as a senior, Alex Stroud coming back as a senior. Sena, Michael Stroud, Casey Richey, Jamie Eads returning as juniors, and several others who show a lot of promise," he said. Jacobson said he wanted to thank the golf staff at Conquistador Golf Course for their support and help for the past season. He wanted to thank Jack Click for aiding him with the team and went on the trips. And he said he wanted to thank the parents and all the people who made contributions to the golf team, financial and otherwise. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
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