Eagles outlast Alamo to post tournament win

ROSWELL — The Clovis Christian boys golf team is looking to pick up right from where it left off last season.

The defending Class 1-3A state champions survived brutal winds to post a two-shot victory over runnerup Alamogordo in Tuesday’s Alien 8 tournament, played at the New Mexico Military golf course.

CCS shot a four-man total of 347 in the seven-team competition. Lovington was third at 353, while Clovis High came in sixth at 392.

On the girls’ side, Roswell Goddard shot 356 to post a 20-stroke margin over Lovington. Clovis was fourth at 396 and Portales High finished sixth at 488.

All five CCS players scored 90 or better, led by sophomore Noah McKay at 84 and junior Carter Teune at 85.

“We haven’t really played that well yet, honestly,” Eagles coach Trent McKay said. “Our main competition (in 1-3A) is going to be Mesilla Valley. For us, really, we have to be good for two days in May (at state).”

It was a struggle for Clovis’ boys, for the most part, although senior Taylor Martin finished third individually with a score of 39-43 — 82, four shots behind medalist Ashton Aranda of Lovington.

“It was a tough day playing in that wind,” Wildcats coach Dale Fullerton said. “Getting it up and down and making some putts was hard.”

Three Lady Wildcats managed to break 100, led by junior Jolei Adkins with an 88. The medalist was Goddard’s Chase Fields, who shot 79.

“The most important thing was the girls got better as the wind got worse,” Lady Cats coach Joe Dvozenja said.

Portales’ girls were led by a 115 from junior Zani Dobbins and a 116 by senior Emma Gonzales.

On Thursday, CHS squads and the Portales and Texico girls participated in the RISD Spring Classic in Roswell at Spring River Golf Course.

On the boys’ side, Hobbs shot 329 for a 25-shot margin over runnerup Roswell High. The Cats, who were led by a 94 from sophomore Jett Stone and a 96 from Martin, were seventh in the 10-team field at 413.

Lovington’s girls finished at 375 for a one-shot margin over Roswell Goddard. Portales was seventh at 533.

Clovis and Texico did not field full girls teams on Thursday. Leading scorers were Adkins for the Lady Cats at 95, Gonzales for the Lady Rams with a 99 and senior Liz Elam for the Lady Wolverines at 123.

CHS tennis — Clovis High’s squads absorbed dual losses at Lovington on Wednesday, the girls falling 5-4 while the boys dropped a 7-2 decision.

Lovington took four of six singles matches for the girls while the Lady Wildcats posted doubles wins at No. 1, with senior Ayia Al Saleh and junior Niliyaah Hall, and at No. 2, with freshman Hansini Lingala and sophomore Kaelynn Rodriguez.

“I’m really proud of the way my girls stepped up today,” Lady Cats coach Rylie Garza said. “Four of these players played at spots they’ve never played before.

“We have some things to work on before district, but we’re all getting excited for the matches ahead.”

For the boys, winners for the Cats were senior Roman Galvan at No. 2 singles and sophomore Titus Wampler and freshman Taksh Patel at No. 3 doubles.

PHS tennis — Roswell High posted a pair of 8-1 dual victories over Portales on Thursday at Roswell.

The lone winners for PHS were junior Joseph Garcia for the boys, beating the Coyotes’ Aldo Mata 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 singles, and sophomore Maggie Duong for the girls with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Maddie Hicks at No. 2 singles.

While the Coyotes dominated most of the boys’ matchups, the Lady Rams were generally competitive. They won at least six games in six of the nine divisions, including losing third-set supertiebreakers at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.

PHS softball — Portales High’s softball team took one squarely on the chin Wednesday night at Roswell High, losing to the Lady Coyotes 16-0 in four innings and 15-0 in three in games moved back a night due to Tuesday’s wind gusts.

Roswell High senior Victoria Sandoval allowed Portales (2-3) just one hit over seven combined innings, that coming in the opener. Meantime, sophomore Sarai Morales went 6-for-7 in the two games for the Lady Coyotes (6-3), with a double in Game 1 and a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored in each contest.