La Cueva boys golf surges late to capture metro crown

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With the state tournament only 11 days away, this was just the warm-up the La Cueva Bears wanted. With four players — none of them seniors — shooting rounds in the 70s, the Bears on Thursday won the Albuquerque Metro Championship at Los Altos Golf Course, overcoming Albuquerque Academy on the back nine to win by three shots. Academy’s girls won metros on Monday at Arroyo del Oso Golf Course.

Led by freshman Nixon Knee, whose 1-under par round of 71 gave him medalist honors, La Cueva shot a team score of 304, or 16-over par. The Bears were trailing Academy for a large stretch of the round Thursday, but eventually made up the deficit over the closing holes as the Chargers shot 307. La Cueva’s putters were hot in the final several holes, which may have put the Bears over the top.

“I think they were all solid. It was a grind today,” La Cueva coach Eric Orell said. “There’s still some left in the tank for all of us, strokes here and there we need to clean up.