AUSTIN – Highland Park has a chance to do something no girls golf team has been able to do the last seven years – finish ahead of Montgomery in the Class 4A UIL State Golf Championships.

ERICH SCHLEGEL / DMN

Highland Park's Cody Gribble finished the boys Class 4A tournament with a leading 70.

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Highland Park trails tournament leader Montgomery by only two strokes going into today's final round, which begins at 7:30 a.m. at the par-72 Jimmy Clay Course.

The two schools have combined to win the last 10 4A titles, with Montgomery winning the last seven and Highland Park the previous three.

"Montgomery is more than a great team," Highland Park coach Andrea Crane said. "It is a great program. But our job is not to play Montgomery. We've got to play the course."

Senior Lila Barton, a Stanford signee, led Highland Park on Monday with a 74. The other four team members posted rounds between 81 and 85.

"It is refreshing for me to see how much our girls focus on playing for the team," Crane said.

Barton, the individual winner in 2006, trails defending champion Lisa McCloskey of Montgomery by six strokes.

Boyd recovers from nervous start: With four players making their state tournament debut, McKinney Boyd almost shot itself out of the Class 4A boys tournament in its first nine holes.

But Boyd recovered from a nervous start to improve 12 strokes on its last nine.

Boyd is tied for second place with Katy Seven Lakes at 310. Highland Park leads at 294.

"It was good to see us wake up and start playing," Boyd coach Jerry Crumpton said.

Senior Brian Benshoof, playing in his third state tournament, led Boyd with a 75.

New streak for HP boys? Highland Park's boys are in position to begin a new state championship streak.

The old one of seven straight Class 4A titles was stopped by Aledo in 2007.

Highland Park junior Cody Gribble, who is orally committed to Texas, managed to sink putts of eight feet, 13 feet and one foot on bumpy greens to account for his three birdies. He finished with a tournament-leading 70.

Sophomore Richard Kalteyek fought back with back-nine birdies after a mid-round triple-bogey to shoot 73.

"We're happy but not satisfied," Highland Park coach Art Spencer said. "We need to play the final round like we're behind."

Huge strides: State tournament experience helped Red Oak sophomore Carly Dear improve 15 strokes from her opening round at state last year.

Dear, who qualified as a medalist from Region II, is tied for fourth with a 75.

But avenging last year's 90 wasn't her focus.

"I just wanted to play the best I could," she said. "I didn't get the ball to the hole on a few putts, but overall, I played well."

Her strategy for the final round is unchanged: Get the ball on the green in regulation.

Briefly: Patricia Holt shot 81 to lead Frisco's girls team. ... John Darden of Frisco Centennial opened with a 75. ... In Class 2A, Edgewood leads Salado by two strokes, 316-318, in its bid for a third consecutive boys state title. ... Alba-Golden's Kelsey Kirkpatrick, who played at Cedar Hill as a freshman and is bidding for back-to-back Class 2A individual titles, trails Shelby Hardy of San Saba by five shots. Kirkpatrick, a junior, is in third with a 75.