ARTESIA — Clovis High’s boys took advantage of one of the best days of the spring in terms of weather on Monday to earn a leg toward Class 5A state competition and win the Artesia Invitational golf tournament.

Junior Kyler Brewer Hill matched par, shooting 37-34 — 71, as the Wildcats shot 297 for a 10-stroke victory over runnerup Hobbs in the eight-team event.

“That’s as good as we’ve played in the three years I’ve (coached),” CHS boys coach Cal Fullerton said. “We’ve had two really good weeks of practice since spring break, and we caught a real break with the weather today.”

Freshman Ethan Peterson tied for third individually, shooting 73, while sophomore Zach Griego tied for sixth at 75. Other scores for the Cats were sophomore Kyle Wornell’s 78 and sophomore Corbin Best’s 79.

The Clovis girls, meantime, finished fifth with a score of 394. Texico was sixth in the eight-team field, shooting 404.

Alamogordo posted four of the top seven individual scores and cruised to the team title at 324, with Artesia second at 362.

Junior Nicki Clayton led the Lady Cats, earning her first leg toward state competition with a score of 43-47 — 90. Other scores included senior Kolby Rains 94, junior Mariah Sparks 103, sophomore Michaela Hulder 107 and junior Veronica Anaya 108.

“It was a good course to score on, and it was a beautiful game,” Lady Cats coach Cristy Hill said. “Veronica, Nicki and Mariah hadn’t really had any varsity tournaments, and Michaela and Kolby each struggled on one hole.”

Sophomore Erin Scanlan led Texico, shooting 45-45 — 90. Behind her were freshman Allison Myers 102, seniors Holly Harrison 104 and Kristen Beltran 108 and freshman Megan Long 109.

Clovis teams return to action on Monday and Tuesday in the Leroy Gooch Invitational at Ruidoso. Meantime, Texico’s girls are slated to host Clovis and Tucumcari in a tournament at Farwell Country Club on April 16.

Artesia Invitational
Monday at Artesia C.C.
Par 71
Boys
Team standings: 1. Clovis 297; 2. Hobbs 307; 3. Alamogordo 315; 4. New Mexico Military 317; 5. Portales 323; 6. Carlsbad 329; 7. Artesia 357; 8. Jal 400.
Clovis results: Kyler Brewer-Hill 37-34 — 71, Ethan Peterson 34-39 — 73, Zach Griego 37-38 — 75, Kyle Wornell 37-41 — 78, Corbin Best 39-40 — 79.

Top 5 individuals: 1. Brewer-Hill, Clovis 71; 2. Jeff O’Dell, Alamogordo 72; 3. (tie) Peterson, Clovis and Kenny Sadke, Hobbs 73; 5. Jeremy Howard, NMMI 74.

Girls
Team standings: 1. Alamogordo 324; 2. Artesia 362; 3. Hobbs 370; 4. Carlsbad 382; 5. Clovis 394; 6. Texico 404; 7. Portales 405; 8. Lovington 424.
Clovis results: Nicki Clayton 43-47 — 90, Kolby Rains 45-49 — 94, Mariah Sparks 51-52 — 103, Michaela Hulder 56-51 — 107, Veronica Anaya 54-54 — 108.
Texico results: Erin Scanlan 45-45 — 90, Allison Myers 53-49 — 102, Holly Harrison 54-50 — 104, Kristen Beltran 58-50 — 108, Megan Long 52-57 — 109.
Top 5 individuals: 1. Carissa Speck, Artesia 75; 2. (tie) Taylor Rather, Hobbs and Kacey Dalpes, Alamogordo 77; 4. Jennifer Lipkow, Alamogordo 81; 5. (three-way tie) Rachel Romo and Kyla Osborn, Alamogordo and Kayla Kirkwood, Artesia 83.