May 13, 2025
FARMINGTON, NM – The Kirtland Central Lady Broncos girls golf team secured a second-place finish at the 2025 NMAA 4A State Golf Tournament, which concluded yesterday in Farmington, N.M. The team posted a total score of 710 over the two rounds, shooting 345 on day one and 365 on day two. This marks the second consecutive year the Lady Broncos have finished as the state runner-up.
Leading the way for the Lady Broncos was freshman Hayden Dan, who finished as the individual runner-up, carding a total score of 149 with rounds of 74 and 75. Hayden, reflecting on her performance, noted she had high expectations and felt she exceeded them with her second-place finish, describing it as a "big stepping stone" for her career.
She was one under par on the front nine on the second day, but struggled with putting on the back nine, which she said "went downhill.” She felt she got in her head around holes 14 or 15. Despite challenges with her putting throughout the tournament, she managed a chip-in to save par on the back nine. Looking ahead to her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, Hayden aims to practice more and improve her mental game, believing a state title is "in the cards" for her future.
Her sister and team captain, Dallas Dan, also had a strong showing, finishing 7th individually with a total score of 167 (78-89). Dallas highlighted making a birdie on hole 13 during the second day, which involved a good drive and a good chip after hitting her three-hybrid over the green. She noted the wind as a challenge, although she felt it didn't bother her significantly, she still didn't play as well as she hoped.
As team captain, Dallas enjoys playing with her teammates, mentioning the fun of practicing with them. She particularly enjoys playing with her sister Hayden, who she says keeps her grounded during practice but becomes very serious and a "really good player" in tournaments. Dallas also pointed out the improvement of new girl Haylee Nocki, which is enjoyable to see as a captain.
While disappointed the team didn't achieve their goal of taking first place this year, Dallas believes the team can get to a first place finish and individually perform better as a team in the future. She expressed thanks to her team, the boys team, and coaches Judith Kamacha, Coach Valdez, and Coach Manning for their support.
Other scoring members for the Lady Broncos included Makayla Manus, who finished 10th with rounds of 83 and 90 for a total of 173. Hayden commented that Makayla "did really good.” Haylee Nocki shot 110 and 111 for a total of 221, placing 41st. Hayden expressed being "very proud of Haylee because she just started golf recently in December and is already shooting scores around 110.
On the boys' side, Zachary Blueeyes was the top finisher for Kirtland Central, earning 6th place individually. Zachary posted scores of 75 and 77 for a total of 152. Reflecting on his final high school tournament, Zachary noted starting well with par on both the front and back nines initially, but then faced difficulty after carding a double and a triple bogey on the back nine. He emphasized the challenge of "trying to recover back from that" and "trying to stay calm, trying to keep my composure."
Wind was a factor, sometimes in his favor and sometimes not. Coming off playing six straight days of golf, including a tournament in Houston, he focused on keeping scores low and energy high. Zachary, who feels he usually gets in his head at the state tournament, stated he "really just kept my composure" this year until those late-round struggles. This tournament marked the end of his high school golf career. He plans to play collegiately, starting at a Military Institute for two years before potentially transferring to another university.
Other Kirtland Central boys competing included Samuel Hawkins, who finished 43rd (88-94—182), Taylor Roundy, who finished 45th (98-97—195), and Ethan Billey, who finished 46th (99-109—208). The Kirtland Central boys team finished 8th overall with a total score of 737 (360-377).