The Fallon boys golf team finished second in last week’s state tournament in Pahrump.
Elaine Adams
Deadlocked going into the second and final day of the Class 3A state tournament, Fernley edged Fallon by three strokes on Wednesday, winning the Vaqueros’ first boys golf state championship.
Fernley and Fallon tied at 345 strokes after the first round at the par-72 Mountain Falls Golf Club in Pahrump. But the Vaqueros placed two in the top three, including the low medalist, to finish with a two-day team score of 682. Elko, which was two strokes behind after the first day, finished third at 695 after only one of its six golfers’ scores improved.
Fallon's Pakela Malama-Gomes finished fourth overall after carding a 78 on Tuesday, which was good for second, followed by an 85 for a two-day total of 163. Dierks Hammon improved his first-day score of 84 by two strokes to finish tied for eighth with a total of 166. Colin Shishido saw the biggest improvement when he dropped his score by 10 strokes on Wednesday with an 81 to finish the tournament at 172.
Ron Lee, the team’s only senior, finished with a 182 after slicing his score from 95 to 87, while Drake Reid carded 92 and 93. Wyatt Sorensen finished with a two-day sum of 190 (98, 92). Only the top-four scores are included in the overall team score.
Fernley's Jacob Holmes carded a 77 to lead all golfers going into Wednesday’s round before finishing with a two-day total of 155 (+1) to win low medalist honors by one stroke.
In the 2A tournament at Elko's par-71 Ruby Mountain Golf Course, Oasis Academy's lone golfer, Tyler Siebecker, finished 17th after shooting a 94 on Tuesday followed by an improved 88 on the second day.
North Tahoe's Ty Whisler won the meet with a combined score of 157 while his team also took home the team title over Incline.