Staff Report
Chaves County Sports Report
Rocket Steven Willis chips just outside the fringe of the 12th green in Roswell. He led the Rockets at state in Las Cruces with an 81.
(File Photo)
LAS CRUCES — The wind didn’t make things easy for the golfers at the AAAA state championship Monday.
Playing in wind that gusted up to 40-plus miles an hour, the scores for Goddard and Roswell weren’t nearly as good as they were during the calmer district tournament.
But Goddard still sits in second with a 335 — 10 shots behind leader Albuquerque Academy — and Rocket coach Billy Carlyle said his team is in the running for a state title.
“If we play well and they open the door a little bit, 10 shots isn’t too much to make up,” he said. “We can’t do the same thing we do today or we lose by 20.”
Steven Willis led Goddard with an 81, but wasn’t counted in the team scores due to a disqualification.
Joseph Healy was the first counted Rocket at 82, good enough to tie for seventh individually ; Truman Haeny and Jarod Marquez both shot 84; and Taylor Puntch, 85.
As individuals, Carlyle said, they didn’t shoot very good.
“They shot 325. They’ve got to be shooting a 300.”
Coyote Will Liakos led the more experienced Roswell golfers in his first time at state.
(File Photo)
But he did take the weather conditions into account when compared to the scores May 3.
“We’re talking about a harder golf course and a lot more wind,” he said. “They had a pretty nice day during the district. Totally different program. Wind was 40 miles an hour today and gusty.”
And if the wind does do what it’s predicted to do Tuesday, the scores may not be much different.
“If the wind blows again and it’s that hard, then we’re possibly looking at the same kind of a thing. It’s a tough golf course in the wind,” Carlyle said.
Roswell sits in sixth after Monday’s first round, and, said coach Steven Willis, “The course won.”
The Coyotes shot a 353, led by Will Liakos at 81; Nick Andreis, 86; Henry Candalaria, 91; and Zeph Jennings, 95.
That was 18 strokes higher than they shot on the same course at district, and Willis attributed it to several things.
“It was the weather. It was the pressure of it being the state tournament. It was the big show, so to speak,” he said. “But I’ve got two seniors who’ve been in five state tournaments. I figured they should be ready.”
He called Andreis’ 95 “not good at all. And Nick at 86, that’s not what he’s capable of, either. The just succumbed to the pressure and the weather.”
The good news is how Liakos and Candalaria, both state tournament first-timers, did, beating the experienced seniors.
And Willis said his team is still not that far from a trophy.
“Just got to hope they go out tomorrow and play like they’re capable of playing, because they’re capable of playing a lot better,” he said. “The weather just changes the par, but you’ve still got to play. I expect them to compete. Maybe not shoot as low as they normally do, but they’ve still got to compete.”
The Lady Rockets sit in 10th as a team with a 408, but are only one shot behind Academy and three behind St. Pius. Deming leads the pack with a 353.
Sara Garcia led the Lady Rockets with a respectable 88 — good enough for sixth place individually — followed by Kristen Baker and Emilee Engelhard at 98; Gabby Baker at 124; and Rebekah Bitner at 142.
Because of predictions of more high winds Tuesday, tournament organizers decided to dispense with the traditional tee-time start, and opt for a shotgun start beginning at 8 a.m. to try and get some play done before the wind arrives.
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