5A Girls Golf Regionals Round Up: State Qualifiers Cemented

Individual region recaps and results:
Northern  \  Southern  \  Central  \ Western 

AURORA – The 5A girls golf regional championships got underway on Monday in two of the four regionals with four of the eight automatic qualifiers being determined throughout the day. Two more qualifiers were determined following Tuesday’s play. 

Mountain Vista (Southern Region), Fossil Ridge (Northern Region) and Valor Christian (Western Region) all claimed regional championships, while Chaparral, Cherry Creek and Ralston Valley finished runner-up in its respective regions to claim a team spot in the upcoming state championships. The top-two finishers – and automatic qualifiers – from the Central Region will be determined on Wednesday. 

In addition, the top-13 individual finishers from each of the regions also clinched their spot in the upcoming state championships.  

The 5A Girls Golf State Championship will be held on Monday and Tuesday, May 20-21 at The Broadlands in Broomfield.
    

Northern

FORT LUPTON (May 13) – Fossil Ridge was locked in at the 5A Girls Northern Regional Championship at Coyote Creek Golf Course in Fort Lupton on Monday.
 
The Sabercats captured the team regional championship, shooting 16-over 229, and boasted three of the top-six individual golfers, including the individual regional champion – sophomore Abbi Beld.

Beld shot 3-over 74. Her Fossil Ridge teammates joining her in the top 10 were freshman Richa Sajjan, who shot 6-over 77 to tie for fourth place, and junior Ellie Barry, who shot 7-over 78 and tied for sixth.
 
Thanks to scoring 23-over 236, the Cherry Creek Bruins finished in second place as a team and placed four golfers in the top 10. Cherry Creek senior Kate Cowser tied for fourth with Sajjan, shooting 6-over 77; junior Caitlyn Chin finished in eighth after shooting 8-over 79; sophomore Tatum Platt finished in ninth after shooting 9-over 80; and senior Cecelia Murray finished in 10th after shooting 10-over 81.
 
In third place, among the teams, were the Legend Titans, with a team score of 24-over 237. The Titans placed two of the top of the regional’s top three golfers, with sophomore Adyson Ice and freshman Maddie Makino shooting 5-over 76, to tie for second.
 
The lone top-10 individual finisher who wasn’t from Fossil Ridge, Cherry Creek or Legend, was Castle View junior Shelby McCord, who shot 7-over 78 to tie for sixth.
 
The top five teams were rounded out by Brighton, finishing in fourth by shooting 49-over 262, and Chatfield, scoring 58-over 271.
 

Southern

Parker (May 13) – In a thrilling showdown, Mountain Vista outshot Ralston Valley to secure the 5A Girls Southern Regional Championship at The Pinery Country Club in Parker on Monday.

Mountain Vista shot 33-over 249, thanks to three golfers – seniors Shae Maiorana, Ryann Isgitt and Elle Crockett – placing in the top 10. Maiorana shot 6-over 78 and finished in second, while Isgitt shot 13-over 85 and placed sixth, and Crockett shot 14-over 86 and placed seventh.

Ralston Valley was right on Mountain Vista’s heels, though, shooting 39-over 255, finishing in second place as a team, and placing two golfers in the top 10. One of those two golfers was the regional’s individual champion, sophomore Addison Hines, who was also the regional’s only golfer to score under par, shooting 1-under 71. Hines’ top-10 teammate was senior Isabel Ekborg, who finished in eighth after shooting 18-over 90.

Regis Jesuit was one of two other schools with multiple top-10 golfers, and, unsurprisingly, finished third in the team standings (50-over 266). The Raiders’ top-10 golfers were junior Audrey Whitmore, who placed second after shooting 6-over 78, and Paige Ferguson, who tied for ninth with a score of 21-over 93.

The final school with multiple top-10 finishers was Pine Creek. The Raptors shot 53-over 269 to finish in fourth among the teams. Sophomore Annette Parker, who scored 10-over 82 to place fifth, and senior Madison Weiner, who tied for ninth with Ferguson, scoring 21-over 93.
The two remaining top-10 finishers were Fairview senior Ava Hickey, who tied Whitmore in second place by shooting 6-over 78, and ThunderRidge freshman Carolina Castro, shooting 21-over 93.

The final top five teams were ThunderRidge and Cherokee Trail, after both shot 80-over 296.

Central

Littleton (May 15) – Rock Canyon would have been hard pressed to ask for a better showing at the 5A Girls Central Regional Championship at Racoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton on Monday. The Jaguars captured the regional championship by shooting 10-over 226.

Rock Canyon golfers finished in first, second and third place, with junior Ashleigh Wilson taking first, after scoring 1-under 71, freshman Taylor Wilson finishing in second, with 5-over 77, and sophomore Ashley Chang coming in third and shooting 6-over 78.

After Rock Canyon, the race for second place was incredibly tight, as Douglas County (43-over 259), Doherty (50-over 266, third place) and Columbine (51-over 267, fourth place) were all only separated by eight strokes.

Douglas County was represented in the top 10 by juniors Isabel Paraiso and Payten Baca. Paraiso finished tied for fourth, thanks to shooting  7-over 79, while Baca finished in sixth place after a 10-over 82 performance.

Freshman Joylanae Barnhill and senior Lauren Kachel reached the top-10 leaderboard for Doherty, with Barnhill scoring 7-over 79 to tie for fourth, and Kachel finishing in seventh place with 11-over 83.

Columbine closed out the top 10 individuals, as the Rebels had golfers claim eighth, ninth and 10th place. Freshman Anica Lest led the pack, thanks to her 15-over 87 day, while junior Emory Crawley and sophomore Lily Hathaway were close behind, shooting 16-over 88 and 20-over 92, respectively.

Among the teams, Monarch finished in fifth, with a score of 81-over 297.

Western

ARVADA (May 14) – Valor Christian swept the top three spots of the Western Regional at West Woods Golf Course to win the regional championship. The Eagles finished with a score of 224 to win, while Chaparral took second with 251 points, as the two clinched team spots in the upcoming state championships. 

Valor’s Brenna Higgins took medalist honors with a 71, while she was followed by a pair of teammates; Ella Scott in second place at 74 and Bella Eide in third at 79. Two strokes back of that was Chaparral’s Brooke Hudson, with an 81, while Valor’s fourth player – Aja Blankenship – and Legacy’s Jessica Chhour tied for fifth with matching scores of 82.