LAS CRUCES, N.M.-Whether it’s wrestling a 250-pound calf, hitting a one and a half-inch golf ball, or hitting the books, junior Kevin Lozares is always working hard to do the best he can to succeed.
Lozares (Mountain View, Calif.) takes on the task of competing in both golf and rodeo at the collegiate level, while also trying to maintain his grades. Although Lozares was a part of the New Mexico State rodeo team as a sophomore, this is his first year on the golf team. He walked on to the team during tryouts in August of 2006.
Lozares has been competing in the two sports since he was 5-years-old and hasn’t stopped since and actually started putting at age two. He learned the game of golf from his Dad, Brad Lozares who is the director of golf at Palo Alto Municipal in California, while picking up his roping talents from his grandfather. Lozares’ grandfather was professional bull rider and he also rode “bucking horses.”
When Lozares would visit his grandfather, he would hang out with the neighbors who were into junior rodeo and that’s when he really started learning more about the sport.
As a sophomore, Lozares competed in calf roping and team roping. As a junior he is making sacrifices to maintain his golf game, while still working hard to be the best roper he can. However, he still has to make even more sacrifices to keep up with school. Lozares is lucky enough to have people like his dad that have influenced him in life.
“I have had a lot of mentors in my life such as my coaches to push me in both sports, and they are a big part of my life,” Lozares said. “One of my best friends will be coming to school here next year and hopefully will be able to play golf here, so that’s a real good thing for me and my golf game.”
In his first season with the NMSU men’s golf team, Lozares has competed in three tournaments. He competed in the Herb Wimberly and scored a 3-under 213 to finish in a tie for sixth and help the Aggies win the tournament. His low round of the tournament came in the final round where he fired a 3-under-par 69.
“Being in college and competing at the collegiate level is a big stepping stone and I feel it’s something that I need to do to get to where I want to go,” Lozares said. “What better time can I get where I get to rope, golf and have people help me learn things in life.”
At the University of Hawai’i Fall Intercollegiate, in Kaneohe, Hawai’i, Lozares shot a 9-over-par 225 on his first trip to the islands. He helped the Aggies to a second place finish there. At the Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, Nev. Lozares fired 3-over-par 219. Men’s golf head coach Scott Lieberwirth mentioned that when Lozares walked on, he knew there was lots of potential in him.
“For someone to do what he is doing they must learn how to manage their time, and have a lot of maturity,” Lieberiwirth said. “We’re very proud to have him as a part of our team and expect him to do a lot of good things for our program.”
Lozares has competed in the two competitions with the NMSU rodeo team and is currently in sixth place in tie-down roping in the Grand Canyon Region. In a competition hosted by Cochise College on Sept. 22-23, Lozares placed third with a time of 23.2 seconds and third as the heeler in team roping.
“With rodeo, there are a lot of guys that help me out a lot and that are good to be around,” Lozares said. “I’m not as far along in rodeo as I am in golf, but I’m working at it.”
At the competition hosted by New Mexico Highlands Oct. 27-28, Lozares placed eighth in tie-down roping, but rodeo head coach Jim Brown was still proud of him.
“Kevin is a really dedicated young man,” Brown said. “He’s dedicated to both golf and rodeo and has talent in both.”
While competing in two sports this past fall, Lozares was able to maintain a 3.0 grade point average for the semester. He is majoring agricultural economics and business and plans to graduate in May of 2008.
So how does Lozares do all this and not go crazy? He can explain that for us.
“You just have to make sacrifices,” Lozares said. “I’m living my dream. I get to golf and rope everyday, and school wise I just have to stay in and do some schoolwork instead of going out with my friends.”
Most would think that roping and golf would be totally different mentally; however, the mental part of his golf game has taught him to be patient with roping.
“What success I have had in rodeo is because of golf, because I have learned how to prepare myself for different things,” Lozares said. “I have learned in golf that one must work hard to get the things one wants.”
Lozares did admit that the “in-game” mentality of the two sports were somewhat different, because if you fall behind in roping you can push a bit more to make up some time, but in golf you can’t push so much because if you do, there will be a tendency to loose focus and fall even more behind.
Not only must Lozares be able to manage his time, but his coaches must also manage his time. There was a point during the fall season that Lozares was competing in a rodeo in Las Vegas, N.M. and flew from there to Reno, Nev. to compete in a golf tournament that following weekend. Whereas his golf teammates arrived a day before the practice round, Lozares arrived on the day of the practice round, and while his rodeo teammates were heading back home to catch up on school, Lozares was getting his mind turned over to the clubs.
“Both of my coaches have gone above and beyond the call with me,” Lozares said. “They are very understanding and supportive and have given me the best opportunity to be successful in both sports. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
While in high school, Lozares played four years of golf under Coach Dave Ferriera at St. Francis High School. While there, he was part of a team that won the Northern California Championships three times. He was also an individual runner-up at the Northern California Championships twice.
Lozares is confident that he will be able to make the trip to Tucson, Ariz. to compete in the PING Arizona Intercollegiate on Jan. 29-30 when the Aggies begin their spring season.
Fans can follow Lozares and his teammates this spring at www.nmstatesports.com with recaps of the tournaments and results.
Courtesy: New Mexico State University
