WINNEMUCCA - Conditions for the Lowry High School boys golf team season open opener could not have been any better. Mother Nature is usually unkind to spring sports, but the weather was ideal on Friday as the Buckaroos hosted Elko and Spring Creek in a preseason Icebreaker tournament at Winnemucca Municipal Golf Course.
Lowry, the defending Division I-A state champion, had no golfers shoot worse than 88 in beating Elko 408-434. Lowry's second team was third at 460 and Spring Creek was fourth with a 465. The Buckaroos did not lose anybody from their state tournament team from a season ago.
Ethan Gray was the low medalist on the day with a 6-over par 78. The Buckaroos had the top three individual placers, with Josh Shaver and Chris Mendoza each shooting 78. Shaver earned second place by winning a chip-off.
"Not too bad for the first go around of the year," said LHS head coach Andrew Meyer. "It was good to get just about everyone out there. The 408 is a good place to start. I know we are capable of playing better. Everyone on the team would probably say they could have played better. We were missing one key player today. We have the capability of shooting in the 380s."
Chris Dendary, one of two seniors on the squad, shot an 84, along with Andy Mendoza. Joseba Criswell carded an 88 for the Buckaroos.
"It is a competitive group this year," Meyer said. "The biggest thing is I want the kids to have fun. The guys tend to get down on themselves because they expect so much. If they can get away from that, we can have a good season."
The Lowry JV was also on the course and was led by Josh Rose and Jarrin Conn, who each shot 89. Lane Mentaberry shot 93, Liam Sparks (94), Hunter Dimock (95) and Luis Brown (98).
"Our JV team did very well, with everyone below 100," added the coach. "We are going to try to get them some more playing time by taking them to some Division III tournaments. If we didn't do that this would be the only time for some of the kids in a tournament for that. These guys are the future of the program and getting them some tournaments to play in would be great."
Lowry also had three more players in the field with Blake Duncan shooting a 94, while Braxton Paulsen and Clay Erquiaga shot 110 and 141, respectively.
Lowry opens the regular season with two tournaments this week. The Buckaroos travel to the Arnold Palmer-designed Dayton Valley Country Club on Thursday with a noon tee time. The league moves on to Fernley on Friday for a 9 a.m. start.
"If we could shoot a 408 at Dayton that would be a great start," Meyer said. "We open our season on one of the toughest courses in northern Nevada. We have a big target on our back being the defending champions, but the guys have been here before."
[[In-content Ad]]
