WINNEMUCCA - If there was any chance at upsetting the Lowry High School boys golf team it would likely have happened last Thursday in Spring Creek.
However the Buckaroos made sure that did not happen, as they shot a 403 to win their fifth consecutive tournament in the Northern 3A. Elko was second with a 412 and Spring Creek placed third on its home course at 419.
"I felt it was pretty solid," said LHS head coach Andrew Meyer. "If we were going to be beat on any course in the north this year, this would have been the one. We knew Spring Creek would step up and play good on its home course and they did. Elko also played well. We still got the job done."
Churchill County was fourth with a 458 and Dayton finished fifth at 463. South Tahoe (473), Truckee (491), Fernley (496) and Sparks (586) completed the team scores.
Lowry has all but clinched the Northern 3A championship with 45 points and two tournaments left. Elko is second with 39 points and Spring Creek third with 35. Churchill County (29) is the only other team with a legitimate chance to reach the state tournament, but the Greenwave need the top three squads to falter in the last three tournaments in order to defend their state title.
The top three teams in the final regular season standings advance to the state tournament, to be held in Boulder City on May 14 - 15. The first day of the tournament will be held at Boulder Creek Golf Course, with the final 18 holes at Boulder Municipal Golf Course.
For the first time this season there was a new low medalist after
Churchill County's Thaaron Kalt shot the low score in the first four tournaments. After not qualifying for his home meet the week before, Lowry's Ethan Gray bounced back to shoot a 72 to lead the field. Kalt was second at 74 and Elko's Dylan Rainwater and Spring Creek's Connor Skidmore tied for third with rounds of 79. The Buckaroos' Chris Mendoza was fifth overall at 80.
"Ethan stepped up with a career round and he was hitting the ball well all day," Meyer said. "It was one of those days where all the putts fell and everything was clicking for him. That was good to see and a hell of a bounce back after not qualifying the week before. He deserves it and is on the course practicing all the time. He finally got rewarded for it."
Cole Erquiaga came back to shoot an 83 after opening with a 10 on his first hole, and Chris Dendary and Andy Mendoza each shot 84. Dendary also had one bad hole, when he recorded an 11 on a par 5. Josh Shaver rounded out the Buckaroo scoring with an 85.
"It seems like every time we win, it's like we lose by 40 shots to our guys," said the coach. "They know we are not playing to our full potential but it is good enough. I am trying to get them a little more confidence. We are still undefeated, so we must be doing something right here."
The Buckaroos are off this week and return to the course on Thursday, May 3, at South Tahoe. Lowry then makes the trip to Edgewood Tahoe on Friday, May 4, for a non-conference tournament.
"Things are going well and we have some time to work on some things," Meyer said. "We are starting to set our sights on the state tournament. After we play at South Tahoe and Edgewood, we will pretty much know what our team is for state. We won't do much qualifying after that and I will work with the six that are going to state."
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