The Lowry High School boys golf team got the opportunity to play a 3A North league match at the Winnemucca Municipal Golf Course on Monday.
The Buckaroos took full advantage, shooting a team score of 352 to finish second.
Truckee continued its winning ways, shooting 324 to win the tournament..
South Tahoe (355), Elko (370), Fernley (376), Spring Creek (425), and Fallon (484) all posted team scores, while Dayton, Sparks and North Valleys had individual golfers only.
The top four individual scores are used to compile the team scores.
“It is nice to be at our home course, home-field advantage so to speak," said LHS coach Andrew Meyer. "It was our best finish of the year, second place. I knew that these kids could beat South Tahoe, it was just a matter of putting the rounds together. We didn’t have an exceptional day, but we played consistent to our abilities and it went well.”
Dillon Patterson was the low Buckaroo with an 81, but his round was not over after 18 holes.
“We had a three-man playoff for second and third place between two Truckee players and Dillon," Meyer said, "That was a pretty cool thing. Dillon made two pars in a two-hole playoff and beat both those boys to earn the silver medal. He played very well today.”
Truckee’s Ethan Flynn (80) edged out Patterson by only one stroke for the individual title win.
LHS freshman Cal Peters shot a 103 in his first match on the home course.
"I am shooting pretty well today," Peters said during his round. "I have gotten pars on two holes so far.”
Hunter Mullins (106) also teed it up for a two-man JV Lowry team.
“We had a couple of JV guys out there that did good," Meyer said. "Some of those kids don’t get the chance to travel with us, so it is good for them to get out and experience this kind of tournament play.”
Kobe Stoker (85), Caden Rorex (92), Max Mavity (94), Rian DeLong (94), and Bodi Miller (107) rounded out the Buckaroo squad.
"I shot 85 today," Stoker said. "It was pretty good, but I had a couple of three-putts that put me in some rough spots. Other than that, it was a good day.” Stoker concluded, “I think we can compete at state this year as a team. We have some younger guys that are coming up and showing improvement every day; that is the best thing to have.”
After the round, Meyer noted some of things the players need to work on.
“Getting off the tee was a struggle for us today," added the coach. "We always have to keep working on our short game, putting and chipping. The better that we can get it to a one hundred yard and in game, the better we are going to score. These kids need to learn how to putt and they will be a force to be reckoned with.”
Lowry finishes fourth
in Fernley
Lowry traveled to the Fernley Golf Club on Tuesday to take on the same rivals they had just squared off against.
Although their team score dropped by double digits from their Monday number (339), it was only good for a fourth place finish.
“Fernley is a similar track to our course, small greens and narrow fairways," Meyer said.
Stoker (79) was the low Buckaroo on the day, with Mavity (84), Rorex (88), Patterson (88), Miller (92) and DeLong (93) completing the Lowry scores.
Flynn (72) was low man again, leading Truckee (306) to another team title as well. Elko (329) was the closest competition, while Fernley (335) took the third spot. South Tahoe (340), Spring Creek (390), and Fallon (412) were the other team scores.
“I think our season is off to a good start,” Meyer concluded. “We are going to try and solidify our spot for state, the top three teams will go. That is going to be a goal of ours from now on. Since they beat Tahoe Saturday, we hope to beat them again a time or two. I think that is possible, and it will give them some confidence going into state.”
The Buckaroos get a few weeks off before going to Spring Creek on April 16 and Ruby View Golf Course on April 17.
Truckee, Lowry, Elko and South Tahoe currently hold the top spots in the race toward the state tournament in May.
