Saturday, March 22, 2008

Two BHS golfers headed for Class 4A state tourney

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Albuquerque Two members of the Belen High School girls golf team are headed for the Class 4A state tournament, and one player on the boys team has taken the first step toward that goal.

Arianna Estrada posted a score of 89, nearly winning Tuesday's West Mesa Invite at Ladera Golf Course, and her Lady Eagle teammate Taylar Jaramillo shot a 91 at the tourney. Both grabbed their third and final individual state qualifying legs with those performances, meaning they can now compete at the Class 4A state championships in May.

Antonio Torres shot one of the best rounds of his career at the Invite, carding a 79 to become the first Belen boys player this season to get one of the three qualifying legs needed for state.

The girls didn't take enough players to post a team score, and only one team did. Rio Rancho shot a 387. Belen junior Stephanie Martinez didn't make the trip, but the Lady Eagles' third golfer, Bonnie Alguire, shot a 135, a 14-stroke improvement over her score at Monday's La Cueva Invite at Arroyo del Oso.

"Bonnie shot the ball much better Tuesday," said BHS coach Larry Garley.

The boys, who had a team score of 335, were only six strokes away from a team state qualifying leg, which District 5-4A rival St. Pius earned with its 329. Belen was third behind St. Pius and Rio Rancho, which shot 310.

Torres improved by 11 strokes over his score from Arroyo del Oso. Daniel Hessinger posted an 84 in his second tournament of the year; Chris Cordova shot an 85 in his first tournament; Daniel Goldberg had an 87 and Anton Trujillo overcame an arm injury to shoot 90. Bryan Torres, playing in case Trujillo couldn't finish, shot a 90.

Belen's boys team next plays at the Albuquerque Invite on Monday, March 31, with the girls participating in the APS Invite on Tuesday, April 1. Both of those events will be at the UNM Championship Course, site of both the District 5-4A tournament and the Class 4A championships in May.

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