KIRTLAND – With only a handful of weeks before the New Mexico Activities Association’s state high school golf championship tournament, the defending Class 5A champion Piedra Vista girls team appears ready to roll again.
Led by a strong performance from senior Annie Yost, who is also looking to defend her individual title from last year’s state championship, Piedra Vista’s girls team rolled to a 12-shot victory over Durango in the 3A Girls State Preview tournament, held Monday afternoon at Riverview Golf Course in Kirtland.
Yost shot a 8-over par 80, defeating Durango’s Ellie White by four shots. The Panthers and Demons girls teams dominated their competition in the event, finishing more than 120 shots ahead of third-place finisher Pine Hill High School and fourth-place Miyamura.
The Panthers girls team will be looking to repeat as state champions when the tournament takes place Monday, May 13 at the San Juan Country Club. It marks the first time in more than five years that the Four Corners has hosted a state golf championship tournament and the first time since 2004 that the entire state’s golf championships will be decided in San Juan County.
“I think the girls team will be ready,” said Piedra Vista head coach Tom Yost. “We still have lots to work on, but they will be ready.”
Annie Yost delivered a sharp performance on the course Monday, including an impressive performance on the Par 4 ninth hole. After laying up on the front end of the green on her second shot, Yost calmly knocked in her birdie attempt from 25 feet out to keep control of her lead.
The top seven individual scorers in the girls event came from Piedra Vista and Durango High. Following Yost and White were Durango’s Dylan Livingston and Piedra Vista’s Alyssa Massey, who each shot a 91 on the course. They were followed by Piedra Vista’s Gentry Rouse (92), as well as Durango’s Riley Harms and Piedra Vista’s Mercedes Sanborn, both of whom shot a 93 on the round.
Durango’s girls golf team will likely be headed to the Class 4A state championships, which are slated to begin at the Country Club of Colorado on Monday, May 20 in Colorado Springs
In boys competition, the St. Michael’s team posted a narrow victory over Mesilla Valley, with Thomas Trujillo and Sebastian Portillo leading the way. The Horsemen fired 334 as a team, edging out Mesilla Valley by three shots. Farmington and Piedra Vista finished third and fourth respectively in the overall boys team standings.
Trujillo won the individual competition with a round of 80, shooting 7-over par and just one shot in front of Portillo. Mesilla Valley’s Cade Horton and Beau Barker each finished in a tie for third with a round of 82.
Lincoln Blue Eyes fired an 11-over par 83 on the Riverview course Monday to finish fifth overall in individual competition, while Piedra Vista’s Burke Allen (84) was one shot behind.
