It helped that the Durango High School girls golf team knew where to place its shots at the Class 4A Region 4 tournament held Monday at Adobe Creek National Golf Course in Fruita.
The Demons had already played the course last month and added a practice round Sunday for good measure. It paid off in a big way. The DHS girls claimed a second-place finish and are headed to state after finishing 40-over-par 256 as a team with three top-15 finishers.
Golden claimed the team title, as it finished 12 strokes better than DHS with a 28-over 244. Mullen and Evergreen tied for third with a 44-over 260.
Madalen Meier led Durango, as the senior shot a 12-over 84 on the day. She played steady golf with six pars and 12 bogeys. Her round will send her to the state tournament for a second consecutive year.
“Madalen had her second-best round she’s ever played, and she was steady,” said DHS head coach Kirk Rawles. “She was solid, didn’t have any major blow-up holes, and when she would hit a bad shot, she’d recover nicely.”
DHS sophomore Lily Tichi came out strong, as she saved par on five of the first nine holes and finished one stroke behind Meier to tie for 10th overall. Tichi shot a 13-over 85 for her career-best. She had seven pars, two double-bogeys and nine bogeys. Rawles was very happy with Tichi’s effort considering how the course had played.
“This is a course where if you do hit one of your drives not on the fairway, it’ll go into this scrub brush that’s hard to get out of, and you can easily put up big numbers then,” Rawles said. “Lily had a few double-bogeys but was smart about them because if you tried to recover it all back in one swing, that’s where a lot of players would get into trouble. She just stuck to it and played some really good golf today.”
Durango senior Quinn Griswold saw what was happening to other players and didn’t even bother to risk using her driver. Her plan paid off, as Griswold shot 15-over 87, which was 12th overall. She recorded two birdies, eight pars, five bogeys and three double-bogeys.
“I got a seven on my first hole and got into a good mindset after and kept pushing and it turned out really good,” Griswold said. “We all have blow-up holes, and especially with the shrub out there. I prevented myself from using my driver. I ended up using my 4-hybrid on every hole and hit it a lot straighter and pretty much missed the shrubs entirely.”
Faith Mewmaw was Durango’s fourth player. She shot a 53-over 125, which was 41st overall and not enough to make the state-qualifying cut four a fourth consecutive year. The Animas High senior will join Meier on the Fort Lewis College women’s golf team in the fall.
Heading into the state meet, Rawles is confident that his three qualifiers will contend. With three players qualified, the Demons can score as a team.
“I’m feeling very optimistic heading into state,” the coach said. “I put it out there that if we can average an 85, we can contend at state. We’ll be playing on a tougher course, but overall we’re in a good place. The next two weeks, we’ll fine-tune some things, and I think we’ll be ready for Greeley.”
The Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A state championship will be held May 20-21 at Pelican Lakes Golf Club in Windsor.
bploen@durangoherald.com
