The 2026 LAHS Girls Golf Team members headed to the New Mexico Class 4A State Championship May 11 and 12 are, from left, Hailee Sarellano, Ella Trujillo, Sophia Saunders, Felicity Trujillo, Fiona Smith. Photo by Stefan Sutton
LAHS GIRLS GOLF NEWS RELEASE
The Los Alamos High School (LAHS) Girls Golf Team has qualified for the New Mexico Class 4A State Championship for the second straight year. The Hilltoppers will tee off May 11 and 12, 2026, at the New Mexico Tech Golf Course in Socorro, NM, ranked 7th in the state and seeded 8th.
The 2026 squad heads to State with two regular-season tournament wins in hand and a deeper, more balanced lineup than last year. Sophomore and team captain Ella Trujillo will be making her third consecutive State appearance, having first qualified individually as an 8th grader in 2024. Senior captain Sophia Saunders, a five-year veteran of the program now in her third year leading the team, has been posting career-low rounds in recent weeks and will be deeply missed after graduation. Junior Hailee Sarellano has climbed from 55th to 34th in the state rankings this season, posting back-to- back personal-best 89s in her final two tournaments. Freshman Felicity Trujillo and 8th-grader Fiona Smith bring power to the lineup, both capable of striking beautiful drives of 270+ yards. Last year’s squad was the first full LAHS girls team to advance to State since 2019, seeding 8th and finishing 7th.
“I am incredibly proud of these girls. The past three years have been challenging from a resource standpoint. Our home course has been closed or only partially open since Fall ’25. This week, with the course closed for aeration the week before State, the girls couldn’t practice short game or putting at home,” said Head Coach Stefan Sutton. “However, they have pressed on without complaint, season after season, finding pros and swing coaches in other towns and traveling up to an hour each way just to find a driving range or holes to play. They have improved week after week this season, and their attitudes, spirit, and motivation have been truly remarkable. To see them succeed under these conditions tells you everything you need to know about this team.”
2026 State Roster includes:
- Ella Trujillo, Sophomore
- Hailee Sarellano, Junior
- Sophia Saunders, Senior
- Felicity Trujillo, Freshman
- Fiona Smith, 8th Grade
Season highlights for the team include:| - 1st Place, Sundevil Black Mesa Open (Apr 6, Black Mesa GC, La Mesilla): Team 374 (+86). Ella Trujillo took 1st place individually with an 84 (+12); Sophia Saunders (95), Hailee Sarellano (97), and Felicity Trujillo (98) finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th individually.
- 1st Place, St. Michael’s Spring Tournament (Apr 14, Santa Fe CC): Team 378 (+90). Ella Trujillo 2nd individually (90), Hailee Sarellano 3rd (92), Fiona Smith 4th (96), Felicity Trujillo 5th (100); four Toppers in the top five.
- SPX Challenge (Girls) (Apr 16, Santa Ana GC): Hailee Sarellano led the team with an 89 (+17), 5th place individually.
- 2nd Place, District 2/6-4A Championship (May 4, Arroyo del Oso): Team 360 (+68), behind ABQ Academy. Ella Trujillo 86, Hailee Sarellano 89, Sophia Saunders 92, Fiona Smith 93, Felicity Trujillo 98.
The Class 4A Girls State Championship will be played May 11 and 12, 2026, at the New Mexico Tech Golf Course in Socorro, NM. The Hilltoppers enter as the No. 8 seed, looking to improve on last year’s 7th-place finish.
This is the third straight season under Head Coach Stefan Sutton, who has led the program since September 2023, that LAHS golfers have advanced to State. The team is supported by a great community that helps enable our girls golf team with the resources to succeed in the sport.
If you have an interested player who would like to join the girls golf team, feel free to reach out to Coach Sutton at s.sutton@laschools.net. All girls are welcome to join, 8th grade and up, beginners to advanced.