by MARK CAUL
The Lehman girls golf team (l-r) Cecilia Ortiz, Vanessa Hernandez, Lizzy Shelton, Nadia Hernandez, and Alaina Martinez capped off an impressive season with a seventh-place finish at the Class 4A Region III tournament in Huntsville. (Courtesy photo)
The Lehman girls team made a successful return to the Class 4A Region III golf tournament in Huntsville last week.
Despite facing highly regarded squads from the likes of Magnolia and Willis, the Lady Lobos came away as the seventh best team in Region III.
“I told the girls going into the regional tournament that they had already accomplished a great deal and anything they did would be gravy,” Lehman head coach Danny Preuss said. “There were a lot of outstanding teams at the regional tournament but I was very proud of the girls for their hard work to get to this level.”
The Lady Lobos, who captured their second consecutive district championship a few weeks ago, were able to improve on last year’s regional scores by shooting single-day totals of 414 and 408 against more established programs.
The Lehman girls shot a 433 and 407 last season at the regional tournament.
Senior Lizzie Shelton led the way for the Lady Lobos with a 198 two-day total.
Other members of the back-to-back district champions who helped exceed last year’s regional scores were Vanessa Hernandez, who shot a 94 on day two of the competition, and Alaina Martinez, Nadia Hernandez and Cecilia Ortiz.
Preuss said he believes the future is indeed bright for an up-and-coming program that has the potential to grow with two of the five performers (Vanessa Hernandez and Martinez) set to return next season.
“We have a lot of talent and they will learn from this experience,” Preuss said. “But I think we will be up for the challenge our new district will bring.”
Shelton thinks the bar has been set for the Lehman golf program.
“We are the first team at the school to win back-to-back district championships in any sport,” Shelton said. “That is something all five of us will remember for the rest of our lives.”
