Nygaard, Petrie lead Pahrump Valley to region golf title

Pahrump Valley sophomore Breanne Nygaard shot an even-par 72 last Wednesday to lead the Trojans girls golf team to the Class 3A Southern Region championship in Mesquite.

The Trojans shot a team total of 729, just three strokes better than second-place Boulder City. The Eagles had four of the top seven individual golfers in the event, but their top player was 15 shots behind Nygaard and the rest of the team couldn’t make up the difference.

The 72 at The Palms combined with an 81 a day earlier at the Casablanca resort gave Nygaard a two-day total of 153, just two shots behind region champion Carolyn Lemon of Western. Because of the small number of competitors, everyone in the field qualified for this week’s Class 3A state championship.

Nygaard’s round included birdies on No. 1, No. 6, No. 9 and No. 15 after making only one birdie during the first round. Makalea Petrie had similar results, shaving seven strokes off of her first-round 89 to post an 82, including three birdies. Her total of 171 was good for fourth place.

Jessica Pearson finished eighth on rounds of 98 and 100, while Anastassia Furman placed 10th, shooting 99 and 108 for the Trojans.

The performance was a significant improvement over last year for Pahrump Valley, which placed third a year ago at Las Vegas Golf Club, 63 strokes behind Boulder City.

Nygaard shot back-to-back 80s to place third, while Petrie was the only other Trojan in the top 10, shooting 187 to finish eighth.

Because of the small number of teams and individual competitors, all participants qualified for the Class 3A state championships, held Monday and Tuesday at Schaffer’s Mill in Truckee, California.

The Trojans and Eagles were joined by the top three teams out of the Northern League, Lowry, Elko and Spring Creek.