3A GOLF: Boulder City’s Lani Potter claims individual crown

Boulder City’s Lani Potter earned medalist honors and helped the Eagles to a second-place finish Tuesday at the Class 3A state girls golf tournament in Elko.

Potter overcame frigid conditions at Ruby View Golf Club to shoot 4-over-par 76 in the final round and become the first individual champion from Boulder City since Randi Lewis won the 3A title in 2010.

Potter, who was second at state last season as a sophomore, had a 3-over 147 total, 20 strokes ahead of Elko’s Annika Criss.

“Lani’s been extremely focused all season in every match that we’ve played,” Boulder City coach Andy Schaper said. “A couple weeks ago, Lani told me, ‘I’m going to win this.’ She had the right frame of mind. She’s put in all the time and effort that you need to put in to be a champion, and I’m proud of her.

“A few of those holes are uphill, and you have a 15 to 20 mph wind in your face. For the better part of two days we had a two-club wind in our face and she just continued to hit great shot after great shot.”

The Eagles posted a final-round 378 as a team, the low score of the day, but were unable to catch Elko. The Indians shot 381 and finished with a 752 total to finish 18 strokes ahead of Boulder City.

Boulder City improved its score by more than 70 strokes from last season’s state tournament when it finished fifth.

Tech finished fifth (872) and Pahrump Valley was sixth with a 906 total.

“Obviously we would have loved to come home with a state title. This year, it just wasn’t our time yet,” Schaper said. “The girls played much better today. They had a much better feel for the greens and just overall I think acclimated themselves to the weather and settled down a little bit. We’re a young team, so I think nerves got the best of us the first day, but they definitely settled in and found the hole a little quicker today.

“But as I look at it and we move into the next year, I’m excited because we’re young, we still have some players that need to put some time in, and they plan on doing that. I think the future is bright for our team, so I’m excited about that.”

Western’s Carolyn Lemon finished third at 176 after a final-round 92. Lowry’s Tatyana Carlson was fourth at 181, followed by Moapa Valley’s Josie Delgadillo at 186.