La Cueva's boys claim Class 5A golf title one year after stinging loss

LAS CRUCES — Organ Mountain’s girls won in their hometown, if not their home course.

And La Cueva’s boys wrote a happier ending for themselves.

The Knights and Bears won Class 5A state golf championships on a scorching Tuesday afternoon at New Mexico State University Golf Course. La Cueva, with diminutive but immensely talented freshman Nixon Knee continuing his late-season heater, won by 22 shots over Alamogordo.

The Bears shot 20-over par 596 over 36 holes, with the Tigers at 618.

Organ Mountain, whose home course is nearby Red Hawk Golf Club — but who are nevertheless quite familiar with NMSU’s layout — won by 16 shots over La Cueva (655-671; the course played as a par-74 for the girls). Bears junior Kendall Trujillo was the medalist, and hers was a three-shot triumph.

La Cueva’s boys — and girls, for that matter — were all adorned in shirts that featured so many tiny splatches of color that they could have, if he were still alive, been designed by Jackson Pollock.

The look was, well, singular. As was the performance by the La Cueva boys.

They gained some atonement, as the sting of their playoff loss to Volcano Vista last year at San Juan Country Club in Farmington had not really subsided all that much, and they were itching to replace, that memory.

“We let Day 2 (last year) slip away. The kids that were a part of that knew it, and they didn’t want to let that happen again,” Bears coach Eric Orell said. “And you saw collectively, that’s what they did.”

Knee, in stature the smallest member of La Cueva’s team, played large down the stretch of this season. He won the Albuquerque metro title two weeks ago at Arroyo del Oso, and won the District 2-5A tournament in Santa Fe last week.

“Winning metros and district definitely was a confidence builder, just to know my game was in a great spot coming into this, and knew that I could perform and compete with all the kids out here,” Knee said.

Knee shot rounds of 71 and 70 at NMSU to finish at 3-under 141. He registered a four-shot victory over Alamogordo sophomore Dyson Wright, one of five related Wrights competing in the boys and girls 5A event.

“It didn’t feel real at first,” said Knee. “I wanted to win as a team so bad, that when I figured out I was individual (champ) and (we won) team, I didn’t know what to think.”

Knee at one point was 4-under for the tournament, with birdies at Nos. 2, 4 and 10. He bogeyed the 11th and 13th, but his lead was comfortable throughout the day, and he closed in style with a birdie at the 18th.

“Crazy that a 14, 15-year-old can come in and do what he did through these last three tournaments, and honestly all season,” Bears coach Eric Orell said.

La Cueva had three other boys finish in the top six, which is how the all-state performers are determined. Sophomore Ian Pierce was tied for fourth, eight shots back of Knee. Sophomore Lukas Strassner (who competed as an individual), along with junior Brett Wall, were part of a five-way tie for sixth.