Cleveland Rocks
Alejandro Armijo and Jacque Galloway win individual titles and lead Cleveland High to Metro golf team championships
The Albuquerque Metro Golf Championships this year were painted a distinct color of Cleveland High School blue.
The Storm not only swept the team titles Monday afternoon at Desert Greens Golf Course, but Alejandro Armijo and Jacque Galloway bagged individual honors to boot.
Armijo prevailed in a one-hole playoff, while Galloway routed the field on a perfect day for golf.
Armijo, a senior who is going to Oregon Tech, beat Rio Rancho’s Santiago Almaguer on the 18th hole in the playoff. Both shot even-par 72.
In the playoff, although Armijo three-putted for bogey, Almaguer was out of position off the tee, driving into a fairway bunker. He eventually made double bogey.
“I’ve been trying to win metros, as a team and as an individual, for five years,” said Armijo, who started his prep career at Cleveland as an eighth-grader. “To finally win it, it’s quite incredible.” Armijo had a strange round. He was 3-under on the front nine, but five-putted from 35 feet for triple bogey at the 10th hole, and also made bogey at 18.
But Armijo, in winning his sixth tournament in prep golf’s 2017-18 wraparound season, said last year, when he tripled No. 9 at metros and let his round slip away, was beneficial as he steadied himself Monday.
“I did not want to let my mind wander,” he said. “I lost control of how I was playing (last year), and I told myself just to shoot even-par (coming in), and not worry about anything else.”
Almaguer was 3-over through five holes, but was terrific the rest of the way, including making a 20-foot eagle putt at the par-5 12th.
Manzano’s Bowen Davis, who was grouped with Armijo and Almaguer, had a crazy round of 73 and narrowly missed the playoff. Davis chipped in for eagle at the short par-4 14th, but then blocked his drive on 15 out of bounds and made double bogey. He also bogeyed the 16th. “I just have to tighten up a few things,” said Bowen. Meanwhile, Galloway, who shot a 1-under 71, won by 12
shots over St. Pius’ Kori Tellez, but that was only the half of it. Galloway, who has committed to the University of Iowa, made 17 pars and one birdie, at the par-5 eighth.
“Kind of frustrating,” she said with a smile after a round in which she missed a handful of short birdie putts.
“I do have to make a couple of adjustments with my putting,” said the Storm junior and defending state champion. “But I’m hitting the ball good, and I’m pleased with the way I played today.”
Cleveland’s girls edged St. Pius by three shots, 348-351, with La Cueva (366) in third place. The Storm boys won by 10 shots over Albuquerque Academy (313323). Manzano (334) was third.