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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Manzano Diver Wins District Golf Title

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
      A Manzano High golfer has won the District 5-5A girls individual golf title four years in a row.
       Former Lady Monarch Ashlee Jones, the Class 5A state-tournament winner in 2006, won three straight district crowns before she went off to play at the University of Nevada in Reno after graduating from Manzano in 2007. Jones hails from Tijeras.
       This year, the victor was Jennifer Wylie, more well-known for her expertise off the 1-meter diving board, who won the district golf championships. She shot a 102 for the low score at Ladera Golf Course on May 5.
       “I was surprised, kind of,” said Wylie, a 5-foot-5 Monarchs junior from Sandia Park. “I think I did a little better this season, but it was about the same. I think the competition in our district wasn't very good this year.”
       Still, no one can take the district title away from her. Wylie also took second at the state and city diving meets during the winter season.
       “She got the district title despite golf being a fourth priority for her,” Manzano coach John Beaver said. “She's got swimming and diving. She's got chorus. If she would make golf her top priority, she could shoot in the high 70s, low 80s. So right now, she has no short game to speak of. But she's very athletic, and she has a lot of potential if she could practice more.”
       Wylie, 17, subsequently tied for 24th at the state Class 5A tournament played at the New Mexico Tech Golf Course on May 12-13. She shot a two-day total of 100-102 — 202.
       “I do like to play golf,” said Wylie, whose best round was a 96 at Los Altos earlier in the spring. “I like to play in good weather where it's nice and green and pretty out. I like all my sports: golf, swimming and diving.”
       The Manzano boys shot a 362 to take second place at the district tournament. Eldorado won with a 300.
       Monarchs sophomore Kyle Linker tied for 33rd at state with an 88-90 — 178. His teammate, sophomore Angelo Fitch, who lives in the Paa-Ko area, placed 45th with a 96-90 — 186.
       “In their defense, we had 35- to 40-mile-per-hour winds every day during state,” Beaver said.
       Wait until next year.
       “It could be the best year yet (for the boys) since I've been here,” said the sixth-year coach. “(Angelo's) dad is working with him some. But what he needs is to be in a junior golf program … And there's seven or eight that could be coming out from Roosevelt Middle School.”
       Beaver will return for another season in 2008-09.
       “I have a great assistant coach now in Kevin Linker (Kyle's father),” Beaver said. “I was ready to quit. I didn't have time to go to the bank or anything. But Kevin covers for me now. We can switch off if we have to.”
       East Mountain
       The Timberwolves boys placed fifth with a 400 at the 11-school District 1/1A-3A championships at Isleta Eagle Golf Course on May 5. Sandia Prep was the team victor with a 341.
       “We were the best golfing bowlers in the state,” EMHS first-year coach Tony Herald said with a smile. “When we were up in Española, they dominated a bowling tournament up there.”
       T'Wolf Noah Duran was the team's most-valuable player. Duran, who earned a 4.36 grade-point average, was one of East Mountain's four co-valedictorians.
       “We did pretty well in golf this year,” said the 5-6, 125-pound senior, who also played basketball and ran cross country. “The younger guys, by the time they're seniors, will be competitive. We have pretty good coaching.”
       Duran, who will pursue a double major in pre-law and hospitality management next school year at UNLV, improved exponentially since his freshman year.
       “Oh yeah, I got better by about 40 strokes,” he said. “At my first tournament, I shot a 132. Then my low was a 92. I think I did it at the Los Alamos tournament.”
       Lady Timberwolves senior Nyssa Homer will also exit the prep scene. She shot a 107 to take fifth place at the district tourney.
       “She was the only varsity girl,” Herald said. “I think there's several small liberal-arts colleges that have talked to her about playing for them. But she didn't make state this year. ”
       Herald sees good things happening in the future.
       “In a few years, if you want to be on the varsity, you'll have to be a good player already,” the coach said. “In a few years, if you haven't played junior golf or middle-school golf, you probably won't be on varsity.”
       East Mountain, tentatively, will host a tournament at Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Course sometime this fall.
       Moriarty
       The Pintos boys wound up in sixth place with a 418 at the District 5-4A tournament at UNM's south course on May 5. Sophomore Ted Flores paced Moriarty.
       “He shot in the low 90s,” Pintos first-year coach Frank Gonzalez said.
       The Moriarty girls, like their counterparts at Manzano and East Mountain, failed to field a full team.
       “In order to be competitive, they're going to have to start earlier,” Gonzalez said. “But golf has been considered a rich man's game, and in many ways, it still is.”
       The coach also hopes to spread out the 2008-09 tournaments, doing more in the fall and less in the spring.
       “I do have a good assistant coach in Olav Roos,” Gonzalez said. “He did a good job. He knows the game, probably better than me. He works well with the kids. I also want to thank Mr. Ted Flores (the father). He came out and helped the kids and acted as a volunteer coach.”
       By the end of the season, Sean Barton was the only senior on the squad.
       “The most important thing I learned was to keep my head down,” Barton said. “Coach actually tried to help us out on the course. If he saw us doing something wrong, he'd try to correct us.”
      

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