For the first time in 2026, the Durango High School girls golf team did not win a tournament, thanks to the impressive play of Kirtland Central and the Broncos’ top golfer, Hayden Dan.
Durango hosted the Durango Hillcrest Invitational on Monday at Hillcrest Golf Club. Golfers from 17 schools competed on a sunny spring day, and the Demons came up just short, finishing second to Kirtland Central. The Broncos finished first with a team score of 30-over par, combining the top three golfers’ scores, and Durango was second at 36-over par. Montrose rounded out the top three at 51-over par.
“The course is in great shape,” Durango girls golf coach Kirk Rawles said. “The kids today stepped up and played in a timely manner, which was awesome, playing in just over four hours. That makes it easier when we had over 100 kids out there. For everybody to get done in time, everybody has to keep on pace. So far, it’s been a great day.”
There was a lot of rain on Sunday in Durango, but the Hillcrest greens were still rolling quickly after they were cut recently. Golfers had to deal with wind and changing temperatures on Monday.
Dan, a sophomore, won her second tournament of the season for Kirtland Central with a 4-over par score, winning by five shots over teammate Makayla Manus and Montezuma-Cortez senior Amita Crowley. Dan finished with two birdies, 12 pars, two bogeys and two double bogeys.
It’s Dan’s third year on varsity, and she had everything working on Monday. The only negatives she could point to were a few missed putts. She was driving the ball accurately like she usually does, and she nearly had a hole-in-one on the short par 3 12th, which she tapped in for birdie.
The top Bronco admitted she had some tournaments where she didn’t play well earlier in the season, but she feels like she’s played well recently. Dan is excited to play her game the rest of the season, with the postseason about three weeks away.
“I’m confident on the course,” Dan said. “Eighth grade year, I was just scared, but I'm more confident on the course, I'm more talkative and more open.”
Junior Dylan Livingston was the top Durango golfer, finishing tied-fourth at 10-over par. Livingston had birdies on the par-4 sixth and the par-4 14th hole. She also finished with six pars, eight bogeys and two double bogeys.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, but with the wind conditions and how the greens were rolling today, I played a solid round,” Livingston said.
Livingston, a notoriously long hitter with her driver, liked how she used her driver and was happy with her putting. She wasn’t satisfied with how she chipped, and that will be a focus for her practice.
Before the Hillcrest Invitational, the Demons were 7-0 in tournaments this season, which is an impressive feat considering Durango lost two of its top four players from last year, Ellie White and Raimee Brant. Livingston said White and Brant are missed, but she’s proud of how seniors Jayden Craig and Riley Harms have stepped up, along with how new players Kierstin Maycock and Kailen Noonan are improving each tournament.
“Our team spirit, effort and camaraderie this year have been so fabulous,” Livingston said. “Everybody is so supportive of each other, and it's just been so amazing. This is definitely going to be the year I remember, for sure.”
Livingston is excited for state up in Montrose at The Bridges. It’s a long course that suits her length off the tee. She’s had a lot of learning moments this season, and there are a lot of emotions going into the postseason knowing it’s Craig and Harms’ final season.
Harms is one of the players who has stepped up after White and Brant’s graduation, and she finished tied-sixth on Monday at 13-over par. Harms had birdies on the par-5 third and the par-4 sixth, along with four pars, nine bogeys and three double bogeys.
The quick greens messed Harms up a little bit, but she was pretty satisfied with her round and her iron play. She feels like she’s been improving a little bit every year, especially with her mental game.
“If I have a bad hole, getting right back to it is pretty hard to do, but just knowing that it's really not that big of a deal and just not trying to stress over it,” Harms said.
Harms hopes to shoot low 80s at state to finish her high school career.
Craig also tied with Harms and Farmington junior Olivia Silentman in sixth at 13-over par. Craig finished with nine pars, six bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey. She drove the green on the uphill, par-4 sixth hole.
“It was definitely good in the beginning,” Craig said. “I practiced the front more than I had the back. I was holding on in the front pretty well, but then to the back, I just kind of lost a couple strokes from putts and then a couple chips and drives.”
Craig was proud of her putting on the front nine. She’s improved her putting a lot in her high school career, along with her mindset. Craig hopes to finish in the top five at state and for the team to win the state title.
After Kirtland Central’s top two finishers, senior Dallas Dan finished 13th at 17-over par. Kirtland head coach Judith Camacho thinks her team can challenge for a state title after finishing second to Albuquerque Academy last year.
“My girls, they're kind of going with the flow,” Camacho said “It's been a little bit difficult adjusting to each tournament and the difficulty. This game is very unpredictable sometimes and even on a good day, you can still have really terrible shots that can affect the round. This round currently shows the full potential of what my girls can do.”
Durango bounced back from its first tournament loss on Monday by winning the Panther Invitational on Tuesday at Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez.
The Demons finished with a team score of 35-over par. Montezuma-Cortez’s Crowley won at 3-over par, followed by Livingston in second at 6-over par. Harms finished fifth at 13-over par, and Craig finished sixth at 16-over par.
Rawles is confident the Demons will qualify their top four golfers for state at The Bridges on May 18 and 19.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
