With just two regular season tournaments left on the schedule, including one in Winnemucca, the Lowry High School girls golf team can all but begin packing for the state tournament in Boulder City next month.
The Lady Bucks have taken a commanding lead in the Division I-A North standings, winning two more tournaments last week. Lowry has won the last five tournaments played, finishing second to Elko in the first action of the season.
“We are playing well right now,” said LHS coach Todd Milton. “We have qualified for state and don’t even have to show up for the last two tournaments. But, we are still showing up. We set goals at the start of the year and winning the league and going to state are two of them.”
The Lady Bucks continued their roll on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Fallon Golf Course, winning with a four-man total of 376.
Spring Creek was second at 395 and Elko (398) was third. Fernley (413) and Churchill County (440) rounded out the top five. Dayton (448) was sixth and Truckee and South Tahoe did not record team scores.
Buckaroo junior Elise Rose continued her hot play, finishing second overall with a round of 83. Fernley’s Brittany Evans was the low medalist at 75 and Spring Creek’s Mikal Jerman was third at 84. Rose is second in the Division I-A North with an 87 average.
“Elise is playing really well right now and has stepped up,” Milton said. “Missing those first two tournaments got her going. She said missing those first two tournaments were good because she was able to get a different perspective by just watching.”
Tatyana Carlson carded a 97, while Kaity Sample, Savanna Cox and Brooklyn Backus each shot 98. Veronica Jones finished at an even 100. For Sample and Jones, those were career-best rounds for the pair of juniors.
“It is nice to see those scores coming down,” said the coach. “If one of the girls have a bad round they are there to pick them up.”
Lowry continues winning ways in Dayton
The Lady Bucks and the rest of the league made the short trek to Dayton a day later to play at the challenging Arnold Palmer designed Dayton Valley Country Club.
Despite playing on a tougher course, Lowry saw its score increase by just two strokes at 378. That was 13 shots better than second-place Elko. Those were the only two schools to break 400. Spring Creek was third at 402 and Fernley (428) and Dayton (454) completed the top five.
“That is such a beautiful course and the girls stepped up,” Milton said. “That can be an intimidating place to play.”
The individual standings mirrored the Fallon results, with Evans winning medalist honors with an 81. The Lady Bucks’ Rose was second at 85 and Jerman was third at 90.
Carlson and Backus carded rounds of 95 and 96, respectively, and Cox had the final kept score at 102. Sample finished with a 104 and Jones shot 113.
Lowry now leads Elko by six points (39-33) in the race for the regional title, and Spring Creek (30) is third. Barring unforeseen circumstances all three schools should qualify for the state tournament in Boulder City on Oct. 21-22.
The Division I-A North doesn’t hold a post-season tournament. The top three teams and top five individuals qualify for the state tournament based on the regular season standings.
The league was supposed to play at Wildcreek Golf Course in Sparks this week, but the Railroaders do not have a team and it was canceled. The Lady Bucks will host the league on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 10 a.m.
“This off week happened at the best time for us,” Milton said. “It’s Homecoming for us and we are only practicing a couple days. I still want them to be high school kids and have fun. It will be nice to get a chance to play on our home course.”
