Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Lady Rams earn leg towards state

RUIDOSO — Wind wrecked havoc with golfers on Monday in the Leroy Gooch Invitational, but the Portales High girls managed to earn a leg toward Class 1A-3A state competition anyway.

Senior Paige Hartman shot 43-41 — 84, putting her in a tie for fifth place indivually with Clovis' Haley Berry, as the Lady Rams compiled a team score of 412 at The Links of Sierra Blanca, leaving them in a tie for 12th place with Onate after the first day's competition. They now have two of the three legs required to qualify for state.

The PHS boys, meantime, are still looking for their first state leg. They are currently 11th at 370, one stroke ahead of Alamogordo and Silver.

The tournament concludes today, with the boys playing at The Links and the girls competing at Cree Meadows Golf Course.

Hartman was the only player to break 100 for the Lady Rams, but coach Loy Hampton said his squad handled the cool, blustery conditions pretty well.

"I was really pleased with how we hung in there," he said. "It was really tough today."

The Cree Meadows course is shorter than The Links, but narrower and could cause problems from that standpoint, Hampton said. And the winds are expected to blow again.

Eighth-grader Andrew Underbrink led the PHS boys, shooting 41-43— 84.

Socorro has the first-day lead in both divisions, shooting 330 for a five-stroke lead over Las Cruces High on the boys side and 341 to lead Class 4A Deming in girls competition.