Cats win 4-5A golf title again

ALBUQUERQUE — Solid ball-striking helped Clovis High senior Guillermo Chavez make up for a few hiccups in his putting game as he shot the day’s only round under-par to lead the Wildcats to their fifth straight District 4-5A boys golf title.

Chavez fired a 2-under 70 Monday at Arroyo Del Oso Golf Course, beating out senior teammate Travis Reid and Sandia’s Nate Meadors by six strokes for individual honors.

Clovis shot a 314 as a team and beat host Cibola by six strokes.

“I still had some problems on the greens — I had two 3-putts for bogeys,” Chavez said. “But I was pretty happy overall.

“The greens were kind of bumpy, and made it hard to putt. That’s where I think almost everybody lost some strokes.”

CHS boys coach George Simmons said the day was generally overcast and started out chilly, but warmed up about the time the players reached the back nine

He said Chavez played a solid round.

“He stroked the ball well and gave himself opportunities,” Simmons said. “He hit all the fairways and greens in regulation.”

In the girls tournament, Clovis finished a distant fourth at 407.

Katie Kempster led Sandia to a 21-stroke win over Carlsbad with a with a 1-under 71, which was seven shots ahead of teammate Monica Mercado.

Simmons said the Cats will have to play better in next week’s Class 5A state tournament at Santa Ana Golf Course in Bernalillo if they hope to realize a state title.

“It was definitely out of the norm,” he said of his team’s round on Monday. “It was definitely good enough to win district, but we still have some work ahead of us to win a state championship.”

The district title was the first outright for Chavez, who tied with Reid for the honor two years ago. He said he didn’t realize how far ahead he was until the end.

“We’ll definitely have to play better next week,” he said. “I know putting hurt us today, but if we just save some strokes around the green we’ll be OK.”

The Lady Wildcats, who earned the third leg they needed to qualify for state Friday in a tournament at Farwell, were led by junior Whitney Jones at 46-48 — 94.

CHS girls coach Jeff Fontanilla said Jones wasn’t that far from possibly breaking 90.

“Whitney had a good round; she was pretty solid all day,” CHS Fontanilla said. “We achieved one of our goals (on Friday), which is great. We’ll just keep going now and see what happens.”

District 4-5A tournament

Tuesday at Arroyo Del Oso G.C.

Albuquerque

Par 72

Boys

Team standings: 1. Clovis 314; 2. Cibola 320; 3. Sandia 324; 4. Hobbs 328; 5. Carlsbad 334.

Clovis individuals: Guillermo Chavez 35-35 — 70, Travis Reid 38-38 — 76, Jordan Moore 42-40 — 82, Ryan Hahn 44-42 — 86, Blake Berry 51-42 — 93.

All-district team (top 6): 1. Chavez 70; 2. (tie) Reid and Nate Meadors, Sandia 76; 4. Ian Vickers, Cibola 77; 5. Michael Ernst, Cibola 79; 6. Kelin Mock, Cibola 80.

Girls

Team standings: 1. Sandia 341; 2. Carlsbad 362; 3. Hobbs 371; 4. Clovis 407; 5. Cibola W/D.

Clovis individuals: Whitney Jones 46-48 — 94, Brianne Bracken 53-48 — 101, Natasha Collins 49-53 — 102, Amanda Estes 62-48 — 110, Tiffany Reid 62-53 — 115.

All-district team (top 6): 1. Katie Kempter, Sandia 71; 2. Monica Mercado, Sandia 78; 3. (tie) Katy Caraway, Carlsbad and Sharilyn Patrick, Hobbs 85; 5. Brandi Goodwin, Hobbs 87; 6. Kosh Kempter, Sandia and Caitlin Fields, Hobbs 88.