WINNEMUCCA - Better now than in the regular season or toward the postseason in the middle of May.
The Lowry High School boys golf team outdistanced Elko by 47 shots in Winnemucca on March 8 in a preseason Icebreaker. However the Indians turned the tide on the Buckaroos this past Thursday, as Elko improved its team score by 48 shots to shoot 413 and win on its home course, Ruby View. Lowry was second at 423 and Spring Creek was not far behind in third with a 436.
"The consensus from everyone on the team leaving the course was that we need to work on our short game," said LHS head coach Andrew Meyer. "That is definitely something that I have noticed. You have to have that short game going to be able to score. If anything, this was a wake-up call for us. This is probably good that this happened and showed we can be beat and it will not be a cakewalk through our league. Elko came to play and only got better. I told the kids that everyone is going to improve and if you want to win state you are going to have to work at it."
The Buckaroos took eight golfers with them on the trip, with Chris Dendary and Ethan Gray each shooting an 80. Chris Mendoza carded an 85 and Andy Mendoza and Josh Rose each shot 89.
"Chris (Dendary) and Ethan continue to play well," Meyer said. "Chris (Mendoza) had a nice round but he told me that he left quite a few shots on the course. I was pleased with my two freshmen with them shooting 89s. It was really good for them to get that experience."
Josh Shaver and Joseba Criswell closed out the scoring with rounds of 91 and 92, respectively.
"We are going to focus on playing a little less and practice around the greens with our chipping and putting," added the coach. "They all like to get on the tee and see how far they can hit the ball. It's OK to play safe and be in the middle of the fairway instead of in trouble to the right or left."
The regular season gets under way Thursday in Fernley at 10 a.m.
"We have about eight or nine strong golfers right now," Meyer said. "We will get there and on the drive home everyone had a focused talk about this will not be easy. Finishing second still doesn't change my mind about these guys. I am pretty excited. This didn't change my expectations, if anything I wanted this to happen now."
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