The Durango High School girls golf team ended the regular season by doing what they did most of the year. Win.
On Tuesday, the Demons traveled to Grand Junction to compete in the Warrior Tournament at Tiara Rado Golf Course and came home victorious against golfers from 15 other high schools.
Durango won with a team score of 240, or +27 over par. Team scores in girls high school in Colorado are the top three players’ scores from each team combined. Montrose was second at +38 over par and Fruita Monument was third at +44 over par.
“It was just great,” Durango girls golf head coach Kirk Rawles said. “We scrimmaged Piedra Vista last week and we didn't play in a tournament, so we decided to rally, head up north and get another one in before regionals next week. I’m glad we did … It was really solid across the board to stay sharp and focused.”
Senior Ellie White led the Demons with a fourth-place finish with a +7-over-par-78. Lenna Persson from Asepn won the tournament at -3-under-par-68.
White had two birdies, eight pars, seven bogeys and one double bogey.
Durango sophomore Dylan Livingston and senior Raimee Brant finished tied fifth with scores of 81. Livingston had 10 pars, seven bogeys and a triple bogey. Brant had two birdies, eight pars, five bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey.
Junior Jayden Craig finished 10th for the Demons with an 83. She had a birdie, eight pars, six bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey.
Tiara Rado was a new golf course for most of the Demons. The weather was nice for the first 14 holes with plenty of cloud cover and in the low 60s. But then the golfers were hit with a big squall, according to Rawles, that lasted a few holes with plenty of wind blowing the rain sideways.
The golfers were playing the forward tees, which helped, but the greens were bumpy and inconsistent.
“It's medium to medium high as far as difficulty goes,” Rawles said about Tiara Rado. “I was trying to explain to the girls before we got up there, it’s some kind of a blend between San Juan Country Club, because the front nine there winds through a bunch of houses and it plays pretty tight. Then the other nine is like the back nine of Black Canyon (Montrose); it’s a little more wide open,”
Durango is still the top-ranked team in 4A and therefore goes into the 2025 Girls 4A Regional 4 Regional on Monday at the Olde Course at Loveland as the top-ranked team at the regional.
Rawles had the chance to play the Olde Course and said the greens are rolling great. The biggest challenge will be the big undulation of the greens.
Since the regular season is over, White was named the Southwest League Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Craig and Livingston were first team all-league and Brant was second team all-league.
Boys lacrosse loses in first round of state playoffs
The Durango boys lacrosse team’s season has ended after the Demons lost 17-4 to Battle Mountain in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.
No. 22 seed Durango finished its season 6-9 overall, while No. 11 Battle Mountain improved to 8-7 overall.
“Battle Mountain is a great disciplined team and we couldn’t win the ground balls, face offs, or get possession to shoot more,” Durango boys lacrosse head coach Valeria Skarbek said.
Junior Henry Huff led the Demons with two goals. Senior JT Munger and junior Wynn Daniels each had a goal. Senior goalie Alex Gnehm finished his career with 23 saves.
Battle Mountain had six players with multiple goals and were led by Joseph Dekanich’s four goals.
The Huskies led 4-1 after the first quarter and 10-1 at halftime. Battle Mountain led 13-4 after three quarters.
Durango will lose six seniors, including its top two point scorers and its goalie.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
