ASPEN - It wasn’t as if Maddy Bante needed to sink a 20-foot putt to defend her title Wednesday afternoon at Aspen Golf Club.

But, the St. Mary’s Academy junior’s stellar season might as well have ended on an extra high note.

Bante earned her second consecutive state win and St. Mary’s its third in a row to close out the 3A CHSAA State Championships.

Bante shot a combined 143 across two days, including a 69 — two under par on the Aspen links — in the latter round.

Completing her final shot in style, she couldn’t help but grin knowing she had clinched another title.

“I was just thinking like, ‘go for it. There’s lots of people watching, and you know the speed, you know the lines, so you’ve gotta commit to it,’” she said. “That was me trying to beat myself.”

The solid score she achieved Wednesday wasn’t even her best, since she’s recorded a -3 previously.
Aspen’s layout was challenging but also something she could figure out, she said.

“Placement was super-key,” she said. “I had so many people supporting and watching me, so playing smart was an easy thing to do.”

St. Mary’s coach Ann Wolta Blackstone said Bante’s skill is in staying competitive no matter what.

“She just goes for it, and when she gets a little bit in the lead or gets behind a hair, she just mentally gets tough. She’s an incredible golfer,” she said.

The Wildcats scored 521 overall among their four players during the tournament, though Bante was the only player in the top 10. Still, freshman Amelia Parrott tied for 15th (186) in the field of 84 golfers, with junior Reese Brown tied for 22 with a 192 and freshman Malika Haro 77th at 252.

The Wildcats were comfortably in front, though it was a little closer than last year.

“Last year we won by 45 shots,” Ann said. “It was a hard golf course, and I wanted them to three-peat so much. They were determined, did their best and took it shot by shot. It was amazing.”

Bante played alongside Noelle Thompson, a Peak to Peak senior, and Aspen junior Lenna Persson.

Thompson was the runner-up individually with a 78 and 76 during the tourney. Persson shot a 79 and an 85, staying close to Salida’s Kyndra Johnson’s 163 total, who was in the threesome to finish right before them.

Thompson couldn’t hold back on the waterworks on the 18th green, though it had little to do with the day’s competition and more about her final high school tourney.

“I really didn’t want to cry because I didn’t want people to think it was because I lost. I’m just sad to see it come to an end because I’ve been surrounded throughout my high school golf experience by such amazing people,” Thompson said.

Thompson said she wasn’t exactly surprised that Bante held the advantage the second day.

“I never got into a groove during my round,” she said. “Being four shots back, you have to find that momentum early in order to make it count.

Peak to Peak also took second place as a group, tying with host Aspen, each with a 532.

Aspen coach Shannon Day, who was instrumental in bring the state event to the club, said she was thrilled with making it highly in the group rankings.

“It was not too shabby,” she laughed. “It wasn’t expected at all, but we’re so happy with the result. I’ve never been prouder. We’ve got a lot of sophomores and juniors on this team, so that should be great for next year.”
 

Finish	Player	Year	Team	R1	R2	Total
1	Maddy Bante	JR	St. Mary's Academy	74	69	143
2	Noelle Thompson	SR	Peak to Peak	78	76	154
3	Kyndra Johnson	SO	Salida	80	83	163
4	Lenna Persson	SO	Aspen	79	85	164
5	Hope Torres	SO	Prospect Ridge	85	83	168
6	Brooke O'Sullivan	JR	Aspen	84	85	169
7	Anya Knoll	SR	Berthoud	88	87	175
8	Haley Plumley	FR	Vail Mountain	95	86	181
9	Kate Dinges	JR	Prospect Ridge	89	94	183
10	Avery Bakes	JR	Colorado Academy	93	92	185
	Ashley Russell	SR	Berthoud	99	86	185
	Quinn Wilson	SR	Denver Christian	91	94	185
	Logan Nobrega	JR	Vail Mountain	89	96	185
	Brooklyn Tychsen	JR	Berthoud	87	98	185
15	Amelia Parrott	FR	St. Mary's Academy	92	94	186
	Shriya Sharma	SO	Peak to Peak	89	97	186
17	Avery Lent	SO	Colorado Academy	95	93	188
18	Chesnie Patrick	JR	Montezuma Cortez	88	101	189
19	Samantha Duncan	SR	Jefferson Academy	95	95	190
20	Emma Garcia	SO	Rye	94	97	191
	Riley Chalmers	SR	Denver Christian	95	96	191
22	Reese Brown	JR	St. Mary's Academy	97	95	192
	Leyni Stavola	JR	Prospect Ridge	99	93	192
	Ava Sommer	JR	Peak to Peak	100	92	192
25	Emma Thompson	SR	Holyoke	104	89	193
26	Hadley Morris	JR	Colorado Academy	89	105	194
	Elsie Nydam	SO	Denver Christian	101	93	194
28	Sophie Dammarell	SR	Resurrection Christian	98	99	197
29	Macie Doherty	SO	Sterling	94	104	198
30	Morgan Ortega	SO	Alamosa	102	97	199
	Kaylee Craig	JR	Peak to Peak	100	99	199
	Audrey Woodrow	SO	Aspen	100	99	199
33	Cameron Roe	SO	SkyView Academy	104	98	202
34	Kendall Velder	SR	Akron Girls	102	101	203
35	Karina Garcia	FR	Resurrection Christian	112	94	206
	Tyler Parratt	SR	Manitou Springs	104	102	206
37	Sophie Morgan	SO	Severance	105	102	207
	Jodi Griffin	SO	Swallows Charter Academy	105	102	207
	Jacelyn Hagerman	SR	Fowler	99	108	207
	Caitlin Morgan	SR	Severance	106	101	207
	Rylee Collins	SR	Resurrection Christian	103	104	207
42	Olivia Donlon	FR	Rye	102	107	209
43	Nevaeh Tolentino	SR	Brush	109	101	210
44	afton unrein	FR	Montezuma Cortez	110	101	211
	Lauren Hays	JR	Burlington	102	109	211
	Amita Crowley	FR	Montezuma Cortez	102	109	211
47	Mason Premer	SO	Berthoud	104	108	212
48	Katelyn Johnson	SO	Severance	108	105	213
	Erin Andersen	SR	Holyoke	102	111	213
50	Kaiya Okizaki	FR	Kent Denver	111	104	215
	Avery Stockslager	FR	Resurrection Christian	105	110	215
52	Anna Apotheker	JR	Manitou Springs	113	108	221
	Katelyn Tacha	JR	Limon	111	110	221
54	Vivian Brown	JR	Meeker	120	103	223
	Alyssa Maestas	JR	Fowler	110	113	223
56	Kelsy Stribling	SO	Rye	111	114	225
57	Jazzy Rosler	JR	Limon	111	116	227
	Madison Nelson	SO	Aspen	110	117	227
59	Kaelin Martellaro	SO	Salida	117	111	228
60	Freja Hampton	JR	Jefferson Academy	117	112	229
	Kenzie Nielson	SO	Rye	113	116	229
62	Isabella Baessler	JR	Severance	116	114	230
63	Annika Shikverg	SR	Vail Mountain	121	110	231
	Ambryn Cornella	SR	SkyView Academy	114	117	231
	Arianna Anderson	JR	Moffat County	108	123	231
66	Rachel Limb	SO	St. Mary's	117	115	232
67	Aiden Tomlin	FR	Gunnison	113	121	234
68	Emma Trollip	SO	Salida	119	117	236
69	Lilly Monat	JR	Arickaree	123	115	238
70	Sage Sappenfield	JR	Vail Mountain	114	125	239
71	Tatumlynn Walkinshaw	SR	Burlington	120	120	240
72	Ellaree Rockey	SO	Monte Vista	121	120	241
73	Hallie Henry	SO	Alamosa	116	128	244
74	Analiyah Griego	SR	Rocky Ford	118	127	245
75	Andrea Maestas	SO	Fowler	121	125	246
76	Jailyn Mekelburg	JR	Yuma	131	116	247
77	Malika Haro	FR	St. Mary's Academy	136	116	252
78	Clare Miltenberger	SO	Stratton	132	126	258
79	Lily Blanchard	FR	Vanguard	142	128	270
80	Anna Volpe	JR	Faith Christian	135	136	271
81	Callie Stone	JR	Limon	138	134	272

Finish	Team	R1	R2	Total
1	St. Mary's Academy	263	258	521
2	Peak to Peak	267	265	532
	Aspen	263	269	532
4	Prospect Ridge	273	270	543
5	Berthoud	274	271	545
6	Colorado Academy	277	290	567
7	Denver Christian	287	283	570
8	Vail Mountain	298	292	590
9	Resurrection Christian	306	297	603
10	Montezuma Cortez	300	311	611
11	Salida	305	311	616
12	Rye	307	318	625
13	Severance	319	308	627
14	Fowler	330	346	676
15	Limon	360	360	720