COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — After claiming the Mountain West Women’s Golf Championship title, the Lobos are racking up the conference honors. Head coach Jill Trujillo has been named MW Coach of the Year while freshman Myah McDonald has been tabbed MW Freshman of the Year, the league announced Thursday.
In addition, two Lobos were named to the All-MW Second Team as sophomores Napat “Jenny” Lertsadwattana and Lauren Lehigh both made the list. New Mexico posts the most members to the All-Conference list this year (4) of any other team.
This marks the second straight season that the Lobos have taken the Freshman of the Year honor as Lertsadwattana earned the accolade in 2020. This season also marks the second that Lertsadwattana has been named to the All-MW Second Team. The WGCA All-American Scholar posts a team-low 73.90 stroke average and a team-low round of 70 on the season after leading UNM in four of its seven competitions.
McDonald turned in an impressive freshman campaign despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and has just entered the rankings of the top 250 players in the nation according to GolfStat. She has posted a 75.33 stroke average in her inaugural season and 17 of her 18 rounds in the lineup have counted toward the Lobo team score this season.
McDonald’s best finish came at the 2021 Mountain West Tournament where she tied for fourth overall. That followed a tied-for-fifth performance at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque where she led UNM, registering the team’s only three-round score under par this season (-1).
Trujillo earns the MW Coach of the Year honor for the third time in her career (2008, 2014) after leading the Lobos to their Mountain West-record ninth championship. Trujillo’s teams have a history of success on the course and she has also guided her squads to academic honors at the top of the nation.
Lehigh’s spot on the All-MW Second Team marks her first league athletic honor of her career which she earned after a stellar sophomore campaign that includes tying for first place overall at the 2021 Mountain West Championships. Lehigh, a WGCA All-American Scholar, led the Lobos at two tournaments this season and posts a 74.72 stroke average on the season.
With their 2021 Mountain West Championship, the Lobos receive the conference’s automatic bid to NCAA Regional competition. The Lobos will travel to Columbus, Ohio for the NCAA Columbus Regional on May 10-12.