SOCORRO - The Grants High School boys' golf team, riding the crest of the District 6-4A championship it had just won, came up short in its bid for a state championship title.

Last week, the Pirates steamrolled through the district tournament at Ladera Golf Course in Albuquerque, taking the team title while senior Jeffrey Trujillo claimed medalist honors for his first-place individual finish.

Prior to the tournament, Trujillo opted to play at number three behind Tannin Cash and Stephen Moleres, and the move proved fruitful as the senior shot a 78 to earn gold.

“One reason I chose to play at three is that it was a less-pressure situation,” Trujillo said. “Playing at three makes it easier for me because my skill level is above those in my group. Plus, Stephen likes playing at a higher position, and I wanted to give him a chance to show himself.”

But at the two-day state tournament in Socorro, on the New Mexico Tech Golf Course, things didn't quite go Trujillo and the Pirates' way in the grueling heat of southern New Mexico.

After one day of competition, May 12, Grants stood at fifth place overall, teamwise, with a total score of 327, 10 strokes behind second-place Roswell and 21 behind first-place Albuquerque Academy, the eventual tourney winner.

Senior Tannin Cash led the Pirates with a 78 on that day, good for a ninth-place tie, while Trujilllo narrowly missed the top-10 with a 79, which placed him tied for 11th with Silver's Brendon Shannon.

“We knew first would be out of the question, because we were quite a ways back,” Trujillo said. “And we knew that to make a good run at second or third we would have to improve our standing on the next day.”

The only other Pirate to crack the top-20 was freshman Denis Moleres. He carded an 83 on the day, but he would save his best for day two of action.

“I was feeling pretty good, and I've been hitting the ball really well,” Moleres said. “It was just that front nine; there were a couple of holes I didn't like the set up on, which made me uncomfortable with my driver. That's why I went out of bounds on the holes I did.”

On day two, the Pirates' engine seized up a bit on the highway, as they could not best their total of 327 from a day prior, which would have helped them gain ground on the teams ahead of them. Their 332 total score - 659 for both days - did not exactly heat up the scorecards, yet, had they been able to shave only a few strokes of that score they could have been in contention for a medal.

Eventual third-place winner, Goddard, finished with a two-day total of 649, 10 strokes ahead of the Pirates. Farmington, at fourth place, shot a 653 throughout the tourney and fifth-place Roswell was right behind at 657.

“If we hadn't put ourselves in the situation where we were so far back, we would have had less pressure on the second day to do well,” Trujillo said. “I think we tried too hard to do well and it caused us to over think things and make some back decisions.”

Still, Trujillo reported that the experience was quite satisfying, a sentiment echoed by Head Coach Marty Zeller.

“I think we're all a little disappointed in what we did,” Trujillo said. “We were capable of doing better. For me and Tannin it was especially disappointing, since it is our senior year and we didn't make a very good showing. We tried too hard to do well instead of letting the game come to us.”

The biggest surprise for Grants may have come in the form of the freshman Moleres. After shooting an 83 on the first day of competition, he shaved six strokes off of his total to shoot a 77. He was the only Grants golfer to lower his score from the previous day, and he ended up as the highest finisher for the Pirates, tied for 11th place.

To boot, his 77 was as good as eventual individual champion Simon Miller of Academy, and it was the third best score by any player in the second round.

“When Miller's score came in at 77 I was pretty surprised because the day before he had shot a 69 which was pretty amazing,” Moleres said. “I just played really well. I was hitting the irons really well, hitting the driver really well and playing at the top of my game.”

Trujillo said he was not surprised at Moleres's play in the second round.

“We knew he had it inside of him and knew he was capable,” Trujillo said. “The first day he was nervous. But he shot one over on the second nine, and once he overcame the nerves of state, he shot what he was capable of doing and we're very happy that he did.”

No happier than Zeller, who said that despite the Pirates' finish, he sees a bright future for Grants golf considering that Moleres came up big as a freshman.

“It was a great experience for all of us,” Zeller said. “But to see Denis perform the way he did was special. I'm sad to see this year end like this, but excited for what's to come.”

Stay with the Beacon for a final feature story on the golf team's three seniors.