Eldorado’s Matthew Manganello wins second region golf crown

Eldorado senior Matthew Manganello is concluding his prep golf career the same way he started it.

As a region champion.

Manganello shot even-par 72 on the second day of the Mountain Region golf tournament to finish with a two-day total of 139 — and his second region championship at Reflection Bay on Wednesday evening.

He also won a Sunrise Region championship as a freshman in 2016 but couldn’t decide which of the two titles was more meaningful.

“I think they feel the same,” he said. “This one is my last one. It feels good to actually win it.”

Manganello shot 67 on Tuesday to build a six-stroke lead over second-place finisher Hazen Newman of Arbor View. Newman applied pressure on Wednesday by shooting 67, but Manganello executed on the back nine to secure the victory by one stroke. Faith Lutheran’s Colton Cherry shot 145 to finish third.

“I got a little nervous. Hazen is a really good player,” Manganello said. “I was able to stay up. It feels really good.”

Newman did, however, help the Aggies win the team title. Arbor View finished with a two-day total of 599 to claim its first region championship since 2005. Faith Lutheran shot 601 to finish second and secure a berth at the state tournament in Reno next week.

“It all came together. Especially on the finishing holes the last two days,” Aggies coach Ron Cyrankowski said. “Just like any other sport, we’ll get these guys well rested.”

Desert Region

Coronado’s Brett Sawaia hoped to make the varsity golf team before his freshman year.

He got a whole lot more than he bargained for.

Sawaia birdied the only playoff hole Wednesday evening to break a tie with Foothill’s Noah MacFawn and win the Desert Region individual championship at Reflection Bay. Sawaia and MacFawn each shot 5-under 139 through the two-day tournament.

Sawaia’s tee shot down the middle of the fairway on the par-5 ninth hole put him in position for the win.

“I was hitting my tee shots really well, and I knew I could make putts when I needed to,” Sawaia said. “I was very fortunate to win this one.”

MacFawn nearly holed his chip shot on the playoff hole but instead settled for par and second place. Cormack Goecke of Spring Valley shot 142 to finish third.

Sawaia also helped the defending state champion Cougars capture their sixth consecutive region title. They registered a two-day score of 572 to beat runner-up Bishop Gorman by 28 strokes; the Cougars were the only team to finish the tournament under par (-4).

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.