Golf regionals could get face lift from NIAA

Nick Christensen

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.

In the latest move to try to keep 18-hole golf tournaments as one-day events, next week's high school regionals are scheduled to take place on easy courses with, in theory, enough windbreaks in the vicinity to keep the balls going straight.

The Sunset Region tournament is scheduled for Monday afternoon at the relatively tame Legacy Golf Club in Henderson. Tuesday's Sunrise tournament is scheduled to start in the late morning at the Rhodes Ranch Golf Club.

"I think they'll be fine," Sierra Vista golf coach Larry Goins said. "I think the difficulty of the course is not nearly as difficult as Paiute was for us. We should be able to get done in basically 7, 8 hours, and if we can't get it done there then we need to re-evaluate anyway what we're doing."

This comes after at least the last five regional golf tournaments were rushed with darkness quickly setting in as players concluded their rounds. At last year's Sunset boys' golf tournament at the Las Vegas Paiute Reservation, very windy conditions delayed play so late that golfers had to take the unprecedented step of finishing play the next morning. The same thing happened at last October's Sunset girls' tournament at Boulder City.

Goins said he doesn't think the easier course will have an impact on overall results.

"In terms of the comfort of the players, I don't know if it's any easier," he said. "It's not as windswept, it's a little easier to stand when putting and things like that. I think it's probably advantageous because it's sheltered by homes and stuff. There's nothing to slow the wind down except a barbed wire fence at Paiute."

But changes might be coming soon. Goins said that next month, the Nevada Interscholastic Athletics Association's Board of Control will consider a proposal to drastically change the way golf tournaments are organized.

Currently, the top six teams from each region, plus the top individual golfers, qualify for regional tournaments.

Goins said there is also a plan to create a long-term rotation for courses to host NIAA golf events, so that a course could, in theory, block out one day as infrequently as every 10 years to host high school golf, and golfers could get on the course at a reasonably early time.

The top two teams from each region, plus the top five golfers from each region whose teams do not qualify, move on to this month's state tournament at Sparks.

"1995," he responded.

Later, Rivera checked in the school's gym to see what the school's most recent banners read.

In fact, Clark hasn't won anything since 1993, he said.

"I've been looking at the flags, thinking can I get one up there, either regional or divisional or state," he said. "We haven't won any kind of championships. In bowling, we got to the semifinals a couple times. Swimming did OK (but) we didn't win any championships."

Charger softball still has three games left, including a tough season finale against Sierra Vista, but Rivera said the mood on campus is bright.

"It's always big news when you're winning," he said. "It's creating a lot of spirit. We're trying to finish our overall season and academic year on a positive note like this. Hopefully it can carry up into our football program and we can rock and roll. They're fired up. They fire me up. I like that energy."

Chargers coach Andrea Leavitt said she'd like to bring Clark its first banner in more than a decade, but said she's trying not to look too far ahead.

"It'd be very nice," she said. "We're just hoping to take one game at a time. Our ultimate goal is to go to state. We need to win all our other games, first."

Clark softball plays at Durango this afternoon.

Miller leads the NEC with a 1.26 ERA and a 13-5 record. Her 65 strikeouts are third in the NEC, and Wagner is in second place in that conference.

In 2002 at Silverado, Miller went 18-6 with a 0.86 ERA, striking out 157 batters in 171 innings.

So sure enough, July prep hoop week will again begin at midnight on July 22, the first day that NCAA coaches can be in the same building as potential recruits.

This year, the event will move from Doolittle to the Tarkanian Basketball Academy, a new facility being built on Rancho just south of Palace Station.

Local entry Nevada Elite will be joined by several teams from the Los Angeles area and past Big Time champion Atlanta Celtics.