PHOTOS BY DON McDERMOTT / PVT Receiving awards at the 10th annual Gene Goins Memorial, a golf tournament for players in the Pahrump Valley Junior Golf Association and contested at the Lakeview Executive course, were (clockwise from top left) were Amy Gilpin, Gabrielle Goodell, Katelyn Button ... Courtney Jersic, Tiffany Harford, Kayla Conn ... Nick Thornburg, Tyler Floyd, Bryan Arbuckle ... Tyler Greene, Sam Tucsnak and Lucas Tietjen. Photos of players in the other age-group divisions will appear in the Friday Times. Advertisement

With the Pahrump Valley High School girls and boys golf teams moving into the high-energy Las Vegas-based Class 4-A league, it's a blessing Pahrump has a strong junior association.

Last Thursday and Friday, 38 present and future Trojan golfers participated in the 10th annual Gene Goins Memorial tournament on the par 58, 3,500-yard Lakeview Executive course.

The Julie Floyd-coached girls' team, winner of the last three (and five of the last 12) Nevada Class 3-A state championships, was represented by rising senior Ashley Keller, who won the 15-18 title with 71-72--143.

Last spring, the PVHS boys, coached by Bob Hopkins, won the Southern regional title, with Elliott Owens in the starting lineup. Owens, who will be a sophomore, won the 15-18 boys championship with 122, including a one-under par 57 on Thursday. Daniel Shimakawa and Shane Lindemann (a two-time state qualifier) tied for second at 131.

And while they competed so well, other young players impressed. Tyler Floyd, the seven-year-old son of Julie Floyd, had 41-42--83 to win the 7-8 boys' division title by 15 strokes.

In the boys' 9-11 group, Sam Tucsnak had 43-48--91, a shot ahead of Lucas Tietjen (44-48--92).

Ryan Hammar, who has been competing in PVJGA tournaments since he was seven years old, won the boys' 12-14 trophy with 71-70--141. (Players 7-11 played two nine-hole rounds; competitors 12-18 were in a pair of 18-hole rounds).

In the girls' 7-8 division, Tiffany Harford won with 59-57--116. Gabrielle Goodell was first in girls 9-11 with 45-47--92 and Tori Peers had 87-77--164 to pace the 12-14 ranks.

Conflicts with vacations forced several other young players to miss the tournament, funded by the Goins family in memory of Gene Goins, a major supporter of junior golf.

Craig Moore, Derek Moore, Marc Worden, Krista Toomer, Nick Harris, Shyanne Dixon, Sierra Fitzgibbons, Sierra Tucsnak, Zack Harris, Josh Little, Josh Reiner, Anthony Worden, Meghan Morales, Will Peers, and Anthony Franco, among others, missed the tournament.

The Goins tournament ends the spring-summer campaign. The next event -- the start of the 2008-2009 tournament season -- is Sept. 6. Subsequent dates are Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, Jan. 10, Feb. 7, March 7, April 4 and May 2, with the 2009 clinic -- mandatory for all players 7-18 -- June 15-16-17. Summer tournaments are June 22, June 29, July 6, July 13, July 20 and the Goins Memorial July 27-28.

NOTES -- The Goins grandchildren -- Carli Thornburg, Amber Thornburg and Nick Thornburg -- played in the tournament ... Chad Goins, the son of Larry and Elaine Goins, was one of the officials; it was announced that a Pahrump individual has agreed to sponsor the three-time Inferno Open champion on selected pro tournaments ... Goins is a former PVJGA, Pahrump Valley High School and collegiate golfer who has played on minor-league tours in the past ... The lack of finances stymied those attempts; now he has a chance to pursue the possibilities ... Larry Goins will be the athletics director at Desert Oasis, a new Las Vegas high school ... The Diamondbacks will compete in the Sunset Region Southwest Division, as will Pahrump Valley, in the 2008-2009 school year.