Curt Arnold is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Saguaro High School for AZPreps365.com.

Saguaro heads into the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Invitational at Silverado Golf Course, hosted by Coronado on Wednesday. This is one of the Saguaro Sabercats' most crucial matches of the season.

The SUSD Invitational will feature Division II's No. 15 Saguaro. No. 2 Chaparral, No. 4 Desert Mountain, No. 7 Arcadia, and No. 59 Coronado.  

The pressure will be on Saguaro trying to climb the rankings in a potential turning point in their season as they push for the Division II state tournament starting Oct. 30.

“They take 12 teams in each division, right now live rankings we are 15th overall. The district tournament could have a big impact on the state tournament.” Saguaro head coach Steve Dahlby said.

The match at Silverado marks the first of the Sabercats’ four remaining opportunities to break the top 12.

Senior Emery Shroyer believes that consistency will be key to the team’s success.

“We’ve got a great set of guys, and I think if we stay consistent and keep working at it, we can definitely do well at districts and maybe even get to state,” Shroyer said.

He added, “As for districts itself, I’m really looking forward to it because that’s a course I’ve played at a lot. It’s kinda my home course.”

Shroyer’s familiarity with the Silverado layout could give him and his team an edge. Saguaro is located across the street from the course, which will be in pristine condition for the tournament. 

“Silverado will be out of overseed for over two weeks, so the course will be in excellent shape,” said SUSD Athletic Director Nathan Slater. “I look forward to seeing all the teams out there and wish them the best of luck.”

The SUSD Invitational will featuring the divisions' top golfers such as Chaparral's Hudson Ross and Aleksei Panek, Desert Mountain's Connor Bringhurst, and Saguaro's own Oliver Uribe.

The Sabercats have stayed competitive through what has been a tough year, after being dealt a key injury to one of their top players.

“Key injury this year. The three-man that hasn’t played all year wont play. So we’ve been a little shorthanded and just trying to battle into the state tournament as a team,” Dahlby said.

The Sabercats know the stakes are high, but are excited to fight for Scottsdale bragging rights at the district tournament.