WINNEMUCCA - With the ground frozen and snow still on parts of Winnemucca Municipal Golf Course on Thursday, the Lowry High School boys golf team started its season where it left off the past three years, beating Elko in a preseason Icebreaker.
The Buckaroo varsity squad had no golfers shoot worse than 88 in beating the Indians 416-461. Chris Dendary was the low medalist on the day with a 5-over par 77.
"We didn't have a guy shoot in the 90s (on the varsity squad)," said LHS head coach Andrew Meyer. "It wasn't too bad for the first time out on the course competitively. These Icebreakers are made for the kids to have fun and work on their game. I saw a lot of kids being hard on themselves and it's just the first weekend of the year. It is way too early in the year to be hard on yourself after just one preseason tournament."
Sophomores Ethan Gray and Chris Mendoza shot 81 and 82, respectively, while Lowry finished out its scoring with Joseba Criswell, Josh Shaver and A.J. Ourada each shooting 88.
"I thought that was a good round for Chris for this early in the season," said the coach. "I am getting an idea of what our top six will look like, and I think we are going to have a pretty good group of players."
The Lowry JV was also on the course and beat Elko 477-497. Jacob Jakich had the low score for the Buckaroos with an 84, while Andy Mendoza carded an 86 and Josh Rose 98. Hunter Dimock shot a 102, Liam Sparks 107 and Blake Duncan 129.
"I am seeing huge improvements from my beginners and younger guys, which is awesome," Meyer said. "They put so much pressure on themselves and are usually nervous, but they seemed pretty relaxed out there today. They were having fun with it, which is the most important thing for me."
The Buckaroos are scheduled to travel to Elko Thursday for a second Icebreaker, before opening the regular season on Thursday, March 22, in Dayton. Lowry will host the Northern 3A on Thursday, April 12.
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