Texico girls rally for 1-3A championship

SOCORRO – If this keeps up, Texico might be inclined to add Paige Mallorey to the staff for all its sports.

So far she’s gone 2-for-2, winning a Class 2A state title in volleyball as an assistant coach in the fall and adding the 1-3A girls state championship in golf on Tuesday.

Down by nine strokes to host Socorro after Monday’s opening round, Texico put four players in the top 13 in the tournament and pulled away to six-stroke team victory (792-798) over the Lady Warriors at the New Mexico Tech golf course.

“I think the girls went in with a good mindset,” Mallorey said. “We knew (Socorro) had a home-course advantage, but every girl’s score counted.

“We had a strong finish by everybody on the last four holes, and that made a big difference.”

Senior Liz Elam posted her fourth consecutive top-10 state medalist finish, this time winning it with a 36-hole total of 170 after shooting 44-38 – 82 on Tuesday. She was tied after the first round with Santa Fe Prep’s Jazmin Leardsakulphasuk, who finished second at 176.

Elam was 10th as a freshman in 2021, then moved up to eighth the following year before placing fifth at 202 last spring.

“I tried to make like it was just another tournament,” she said of her approach. “I just focused on my game and enjoyed the scenery. I was just playing golf.”

Her teammates gave her the support needed to overhaul the Lady Warriors and win going away.

“We had a meeting last night (after the first round) and said, ‘We have to grind,’” Elam said. “We just tried to focus on what we had to do.”

Also for the Lady Wolverines, sophomore Gabriella De La Rosa took seventh overall at 199, shooting 48-49 – 97 on Tuesday, while senior Siera Hunt went 49-49 – 98 for a 209 total and 10th place, and junior Sophie Schaap (54-49 – 103 on Tuesday) tied for 12th with Aspen Barbe of Gateway Christian at 214.

Freshman Riley Fury posted a second-round score of 65-60 – 125) for a two-day total of 249.

Texico has had four second-place finishes since 2016, to go with a fourth in 1017 and sixth-place showings in 2019 and 2022.

Clovis Christian had two boys and two girls in the event. Senior Noah McKay took fifth overall for the boys, shooting 85-79 – 164, while freshman Brock Teune came in at 89-85 – 174.

Senior Kaprix Foote led the Lady Eagles at 112-112 – 224, and sophomore Lauren Weaver tallied 119-109 – 228.

Mesilla Valley’s boys shot 329-334 – 663 for a 20-stroke team victory over Socorro. New Mexico Military’s Mason Hicks was the medalist at 80-78 – 158.

Class 5A – At Twin Warrior Golf Course in Bernalillo, Clovis High sophomore Kylie Sprinkle, tied for 19th after Day 1, made a big jump in girls competition, shooting 42-42 – 84 on Tuesday for a 36-hole tally of 176 and a tie for 10th place with Organ Mountain’s Alyssa Serna.

Piedra Vista, led by medalist Annie Yost (74-71 – 145), shot 338-344 – 682 and held off La Cueva, which came in at 352-335 – 687, for team honors.

Meantime, CHS senior Jett Stone struggled on the second day, shooting 46-44 – 90 for a 170 total.

“He played really well the first day,” CHS boys coach Dale Fullerton said. “The second day he was just off a little bit with his driver.”

Volcano Vista (311-299 – 610) pulled away from La Cueva (314-305 – 619) to take the boys team championship. La Cueva’s Jake Yrene was the individual medalist at 71-75 – 146.

Class 4A – At Santa Ana Golf Course in Albuquerque, senior Paige Yazzie shot 52-52 – 104 for Portales High on Tuesday and finished at 202, while senior Cydnee Massey went 50-61 – 111 in Round 2 for a 238 total and junior Adrienne Ruiz came in at 59-61 – 120 on the second day for a 242 tally.

Albuquerque Academy won both divisions, the boys shooting 312-303 – 615 to 321-302 – 623 for St. Pius, while the girls were at 329-325 – 654 to 344-337 – 681 for Kirtland Central.

Kirtland Central’s Skyler Woods was the boys medalist at 67-71 – 138, six under par. Belen’s Rylee Salome (76-68 – 144) pulled away from first-day leader Anya Parasher of Academy (75-78 – 153) for girls medalist honors.