Faith Lutheran sophomore wins state golf title

Heather Cory

Faith Lutheran’s Ashley Lacher watches as her ball flies through the air during the 3A Southern League golf tournament at the Boulder City Golf Course on Thursday.

By Christopher Drexel (contact)

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008 | 6:44 p.m.

Heather Cory

Faith Lutheran's Ashley Lacher putts during the 3A Southern League Golf Tournament at Boulder City Golf Course on Thursday.

Ashley Lacher had barely picked up a golf club until midway through her eighth grade year. Less than 24 months later, the Faith Lutheran sophomore is a state champion.

Lacher won the 3A state individual title at by shooting a two-day score of 165 at the 5,698-yard, par 71 Spring Creek golf course in Northern Nevada on Monday and Tuesday.

Lacher said she was surprised to beat the best in 3A after having played the game for less than two years.

"It's pretty cool, but I'm still in shock," Lacher said. "I was really consistent throughout the whole two days. I didn't have any bad holes."

Lacher was tied for first with Virgin Valley's Felicia Baeza after shooting an 85 the first day of the tournament. But Lacher came back to shoot an 80 on day two, easily running away from the field to capture the tournament by 14 strokes. Chloe McClintock, of Lowry High, took second with a 179.

"When I knew I was beating everybody, I just said 'Now you're just playing against yourself,'" Lacher said. "That's what I did and it worked out."

Faith Lutheran coach Mark Cheney said Lacher's second-day performance was the best he's seen from her.

"The best score she shot this year was 78, but to shoot 80 today under the pressure of a state championship, I think it was by far her best round of

the year," Cheney said. "I did think it would be a little closer, but she kept it on the fairway and hit it on the green and that's why she beat the

competition."

As a freshman, Lacher's average was about 100. This season she averaged about an 85.

"At the beginning of the season, I didn't think she'd be in the running for a state championship," Cheney said. "But the way she's been playing the last three weeks, I thought she was a contender, and I knew she was going to be solid today. "

After playing in just a few tournaments as an eighth-grader, Lacher said she spent an average of five hours a day on the course each of the last two

summers. And when golf wasn't in season, she still hit the course for about three hours every day after school.

"It's great because I've worked so hard the last two years to get this far in this amount of time," she said. "Winning was a dream come true."

Lacher also won the 3A Southern League championship by shooting an 85 at the Boulder City Municipal Golf Course on Thursday. She shot a 45 on the front nine and a 40 on the final nine holes to edge Boulder City High's Margot Potter by one stroke.

"I knew it would come down to the short game, who would make the putts at the end," Lacher said. "So there was a lot of adrenaline pumping on that

last hole."

As a team, Faith Lutheran shot 454 at the league tournament to finish third behind Boulder City's 389 and Virgin Valley's 435. Only the top teams

qualified for state. However, three other Crusader golfers qualified for state individually, including Erin Delaney, who shot 108, Anissa Hall (120), and Kacy Bethel (141).

At state, Delaney shot a two-day score of 209 to take 17th. Hall shot 240 to finish tied for 29th. And Bethel shot 246 to finish 33rd. The Crusaders didn't qualify as a team for state.

Christopher Drexel can be reached at 990-8929 or christopher.drexel@hbcpub.com.