Wild, unpredictable and controversial. Those were some of the words used at the finish of the NIAA Division I-A State Boys Golf Championship last week at Mountain Falls Golf Club in Pahrump.
The first day of the tournament went off with a hitch with Lowry High School pulling out to a 13-stroke lead (390-403) over Faith Lutheran. Players in the Division I-A had the early tee times on the opening day (May 21). The Division I and III schools took to the course later in the afternoon and players from the smallest division had to come back the next day to finish their rounds after darkness halted play on day one.
The roles were reversed for the final 18 holes on May 22 with Division III teeing off first and the I-A schools getting the late times. What happened from there left questions to be answered. With players from Lowry, Faith Lutheran and Boulder City starting around 3 p.m., darkness became a factor in the end. The final groups played well past dusk and officials and others were shining lights on the players to help them complete their rounds.
In addition, the Buckaroos ended up shooting their worst round of the season, allowing Faith Lutheran to claim the state title. After about a 15-minute discussion with officials and coaches, it was determined that the final hole played by the players would be thrown out and it would be a 35-hole tournament.
Faith Lutheran finished with a 781 and Lowry was second at 787. Boulder City was a distant third at 817 and Elko was fourth at 829. Pahrump (878) and Spring Creek (884) rounded out the standings. Adding to the confusion, the Lowry team was announced as the original winner. The Buckaroos had won the last two state titles and three out of the last four.
"We had a nice first day and played well," said LHS coach Andrew Meyer. "We just didn't play well on the second day and Faith Lutheran brought their game. They were hitting the shots and making every putt. I can sit here and whine about went wrong with the tournament and how it was ran and we finished in the dark. It wasn't handled very well, but it's not going to do any good to worry about it. The bottom line was we had a bad day and it was tough to watch. If you count the 36-hole total we lost by two shots. There were rule issues everywhere. It's just a blood bath between Faith Lutheran and us."
Faith Lutheran freshman Charlie Magruder won the individual championship with a two-day total of 143. Boulder City's Luke Logan, the defending champion, was second at 149.
The Buckaroos Ethan Gray was third with rounds of 73 and 79 for a 152. The senior, who will be attending BYU-Hawaii next year, birdied the 18th hole and would have finished second but had his score wiped out.
"Ethan did a good job of keeping it together," Meyer said. "He should have gotten second place. It turned out the 18th hole didn't matter. I was just disappointed in how it all ended. It was poorly managed."
The brother combination of Andy Mendoza (153) and Chris Mendoza (160) were fifth and sixth, respectively. Andy Mendoza had rounds of 74 and 79, while his older brother carded scores of 78 and 82.
Josh Shaver made it four Buckaroos in the top 10, as the senior was 10th with a 159. Fellow senior Joseba Criswell tied for 17th with a 163 and junior Josh Rose tied for 25th with a two-day total of 168.
"I am proud with the way my kids handled themselves," Meyer said. "It's just a bummer for me to watch these kids and what happened. This is the year I wanted it the most for them. I feel bad for the seniors, that is not the way you want to end your career. All in all it was still a good season. We won the academic championship, which I think is an important thing. The nice thing is those four guys have somewhere to go after graduation and further their careers in different places."
Contact Tony Erquiaga at t.erquiaga@winnemuccapublishing.net.[[In-content Ad]]
