DIVISION I-A GOLF: Boulder City’s Logan follows through, captures crown

RENO — Boulder City sophomore Luke Logan entered the final round of the Division I-A boys state golf tournament at Sierra Sage Golf Course with a one-stroke lead and determined to improve on last year’s second-place finish in Class 3A.

And for the second straight day, Logan struggled on the front nine but overcame his mistakes. This time it resulted in his first state championship.

Logan shot 3-over-par 74 on Wednesday to finish at 4-over 146, two strokes ahead of Lowry’s Ethan Gray, who shot 71 Wednesday to come from five shots behind. Virgin Valley’s Kadan Atkin was third at 149.

“I just wanted to put up a good round and play my game,” Logan said. “I was all over the place. The front nine was killing me, and I tried to turn it around.”

Said Boulder City coach Regina Quintero: “He just plays his own game. It’s great. He’s one that we can look forward to as being one of the major leaders on our team that’s going to say 'this is what is possible for everybody else.’ ”

Lowry won its second consecutive team title. The Buckaroos shot 391 Wednesday to finish at 786, 21 shots ahead of runner-up Faith Lutheran. The Crusaders struggled throughout the round, with only one player bettering his first-round score.

“This one was incredible, to say the least,” Lowry coach Andrew Meyer said. “These guys earned it. They were undefeated for the last two years. I’m really kind of speechless.”

Lowry entered the tournament with a chip on its shoulder, having perceived a lot of hype going toward Southern Nevada schools.

“It was in the back of our minds,” Meyer said. “To beat the South on our home turf up here in the North was big. That sets us apart of how good Lowry is. Lowry’s got that dynasty.”

Boulder City was third at 826 despite Logan’s heroics.

“I expected to finish a lot better than third,” Quintero said. “They don’t really have a lot of major tournament experience, so when things go bad on one hole, it tends to carry over for two or three.

“I really did expect to be in the hunt for it all. I think a little bit of the pressure got to some of the kids.”