Belen golfers rebuild, eye district title and state competition

Belen’s boys golf team has turned a roster reset into a real shot at the district title, and that would put the Eagles back on the road to state after losing two of the most decorated players in program history.

The biggest change has been simple and unforgiving: Grady Cox graduated in 2024 after winning a pair of New Mexico championships, and Rylee Salome left last fall for New Mexico State University after completing a run that made her one of the state’s all-time four-time individual champions. In their place, coach Donald Marquez said the boys have been a surprise this season, and the group now has a clear target in front of it, the district championship set for May 4 at Tierra Del Sol Golf Club in Rio Communities.

That course gives the race a local edge. Tierra Del Sol is a public 18-hole layout just outside Belen, listed at 6,642 yards and par 72, and it will decide whether Belen can move into the postseason with momentum. The New Mexico Activities Association has the spring golf season running from Feb. 9 through the state championships on May 11-12, so the district meet is the gatekeeper for teams trying to keep their seasons alive.

Eli O’Canna is one of the names to know in that push. He finished 18th at last year’s Class 4A state tournament and has become part of the core trying to keep Belen competitive despite the turnover at the top. That matters because the program is not starting from scratch. In the 2024 4A state preview, Cox shot a 71 and finished second individually, while Salome won the girls title with a 70, a reminder that Belen had already been operating at state level before this season’s rebuild began.

The Eagles’ challenge now is whether younger players can hold up under district pressure and earn another trip into the NMAA’s 4A bracket. Albuquerque Academy won the boys team title in 2025, setting the standard Belen still has to chase, but the fact that Belen stayed relevant statewide even after losing Cox and Salome shows how strong the program’s pipeline remains.

For Valencia County, this is more than a scorecard story. Belen’s run tells a larger spring sports story in a county where golf often gets less attention than football or basketball: a small-school program can lose elite talent and still stay in the hunt if the next wave is ready to play. If the Eagles handle May 4 at Tierra Del Sol, they will not just protect a season. They will put Valencia County back into the state conversation.