Portales' Low wins playoff, tops Artesia field

ARTESIA — Taking the nearly three-hour ride to Artesia can be a drag. But when good things happen there, it’s well worth the trip.

It was certainly a worthwhile trip on Monday for Portales freshman golfer Valen Low, who won the Bulldog Invite in Artesia by defeating Lovington’s Rial Williams on the second playoff hole.

Both golfers ended regular play with a match-best 74. The playoff teed off from Hole 1, with each golfer parring it. Next up was Hole 2, where Lowe missed a putt for par, settling for a bogey. Williams, though, double-bogeyed the hole, giving the championship to the Ram ninth-grader.

“It was really good, it was a really good day,” Portales interim golf coach Mark Gallegos said. “The team ended up second overall. The kids had a pretty good day. It was a beautiful day out there and a really nice course.”

After the initial battle between Lowe and Williams ended in a tie, they weren’t certain there would even be a playoff.

“I wasn’t aware before the tournament started that any ties would be broken,” Gallegos said. “I didn’t see that.”

In fact, Lowe and Williams were set to pack it in. When they discovered they would be playing off for the title, they had to put their golf shoes back on, grab their clubs again.

“They both had to get out there and get warmed up, so it was really exciting,” Gallegos said. “(Low) showed a lot of poise for a freshman.”

Lowe’s teammate Talon Payne wound up only two strokes off the lead with a 76.

Portales’ boys finished with 314 points, just three strokes behind Lovington’s tournament-winning 317. The Ram scores amounting to their 314 were: Lowe’s regulation 74, Payne’s 76, Austin Davis’ 82 and Nathan Cota’s 85.

“The kids were a little disappointed; they felt they could’ve shot better,” Gallegos said. “They felt they left some strokes out on the course, but that’s to be expected. They battled all day.”

The Rams added another state-qualifying performance to this season’s resume. Not that they needed another one, but it was nice for them to get one anyway.

“So we just keep improving toward the state tournament,” Gallegos said.

Clovis’ top golfer, Kolt Bennett, finished just three strokes off the lead with a 77, with teammate Christian Fontanilla winding up two strokes behind him at 79.

The Wildcats’ David Maldonado and Blayne Casey each shot 81s. Three in back of them was teammate Dakota York with an 84.

Factoring in the four lowest scores gave Clovis 318, just a stroke behind Portales.

On the girls’ side, Portales’ Janae Hale took third with an 85, just three strokes behind the champion, Artesia’s Taysea Powell (82).

The Lady Rams’ only other golfer, McKinzie Davis posted a 96.

“That was McKinzie Davis’ first qualifying score for states,” Gallegos said, “so it was a good day for her. We’re really proud of her.”

Clovis’ low girls scorer was Logan Clayton, who shot 90.

Sdyni Hill shot a 97, Ashley Maldonado was close behind with a 99. Destiny Hodges shot a 104, and Mattie Dosher a 116 for the Lady Wildcats.

For Texico, Sarah Harrison shot a 97, followed right behind by teammate Grace McDaniel with a 98.

Kaytlyn Queener shot a 103 for the Lady Wolverines, followed by teammates Macey Tharp (111), Libby Douma (114) and Anneke Douma (123).

“It was a beautiful day on the front nine,” Texico coach Kristen Scanlan said. “And on the back nine, the wind picked up, so it was pretty hairy. But we qualified again, so we had our fourth state-qualifying leg.”