The story of a superstar golfer usually follows a familiar script:
Club in hand before they can walk, unusual ability to craft shots as a young child and big driving distance long before their peers.
Category: Girls Golf
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Berthoud golf has home sweet home at TPC Colorado
There’s one hole called Heaven’s Gate, another named Center Stage. And looking out over the expansive grounds of TPC Colorado, it’s easy to see why.
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Lehigh sisters looking to seize on chance to win a championship for Loveland girls golf
(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com) Lauren Lehigh knows the feeling that comes with being a state golf champion. Two years ago she held off one of her own teammates as well as Glenwood Springs’ Lauren Murphy to capture Class 4A gold.
Loveland also claimed the team title that year.
Last year a repeat attempt failed as Cheyenne Mountain’s Maxine Choi took first at the Country Club of Colorado. Windsor claimed the team title.
Now Lehigh is out to once again put Loveland back on top of the golf scene (the team is back in 5A this year) and this time, her younger sister will lend a helping hand.
Katelyn is a freshman and has the potential to be every bit as much in the individual championship picture in the coming years. But where she’s been the biggest help to the team has been keeping the veterans, including her older sister, competitive through the year.
“We put up with each other all day then we got to the golf course and compete which is a lot of fun,” Lauren said. “We push each other to do better. It’s been a fun change.”
But along with that change has come some hope that they can do something together that they’ll only get one shot at.
(Photo courtesy of Lauren Lehigh) As a senior, Lauren is trying to lead Loveland to its second state title in three years. To do it with family would be something truly special and it’s something that’s been talked about quite a bit between the two of them.
“We knew it coming in and it’s always in the back of our minds,” Katelyn said. “Since (state) is at our home course, we have a very good chance of winning. Even Lauren has said it, she doesn’t want the individual title as much as she wants the team title with me.”
That just means each player needs to do their part. Lauren has been outstanding all year. She has yet to play a round in which she has finished over par. Her season-best came in at the Lobo Invite at the Harmony Club. She shot a 6-under-par 66 and hit a hole-in-one on her second hole of the day — the par-3 sixth.
It helps that Taylor Bandemer also returns from last year’s team. Bandemer finished fifth at state last year.
But it’s been the addition of Katelyn that has added a ton of excitement with the team. While Loveland coach Bill Stephens can certainly see a bit of sibling rivalry play out on the course at times, the additional emotional support has been the biggest impact he’s seen.
“They’re more supporting than competitive with each other,” Stephens said. “Out on the course, if one of them has a little bit of a downturn in their game, the other will start yelling out in support. They’re usually close enough in tournaments that they can see each other.”
And they keep each other sharp. There’s enough internal competition between the Loveland players that little games played in practice force everyone to remain sharp through the course of the season.
“Nothing can just be for fun out there for us,” Lauren said. “There always has to be some kind of competition whether it’s a putting contest or chipping contest. It brings a new level to the game.”
Next up for Loveland is the third Front Range League Tournament of the year at Coal Creek Golf Course.
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Colorado weather has a habit of disrupting spring sports
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) With another snow storm moving through the Denver area and some of southern Colorado, a slate of spring sport competitions were wiped out on Wednesday.
They’ll likely be made up, but it’s just another year and another wave of weather that has become disruptive. It’s became a yearly tradition.
As difficult as it is for athletes and schools, weather disruptions have also been the cause for many tales among Colorado media. On a day where not a lot of competition was played, it seemed like a good idea to provide a forum for those stories to be told.
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Ryan Casey (CHSAANow.com)
This is hard to decide, because spring sports are basically run by weather every season. But, I will say, the thing that sticks out the most to me is probably the state track meet two years ago which saw a massive snowstorm overtake Jeffco Stadium early in the morning of what was supposed to be the meet’s first day. Ultimately, we had to condense the meet to a two-day format because of this storm.
I remember pulling into the parking lot at Jeffco around 6 a.m., and it was kind of snowing – and I knew moisture alone was going to be a problem for the meet. But I figured maybe we would have to delay a bit, and adjust the schedule. Which, honestly, isn’t exactly common for a spring sports championship event.
I don’t exactly recall what we were expecting that day in terms of a forecast, but I do know it wasn’t what we got. Which was a MASSIVE amount of snow. It just kept coming. By about 7 a.m., it was clear the meet wasn’t going to start on Thursday at all (in fact, it didn’t start until Saturday). Around that same time, I decided to walk around the track with my camera. It was surreal. This wasn’t just a random spring snowstorm which was going to dry up by the afternoon. It was a full-on snowstorm that we get in the winter.
Now, every time it snows in the spring, I text Jenn Roberts-Uhlig (who oversees track in our office), and ask if she wants to drive by Jeffco to relive the memory.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) [divider]
Anthony Sandstrom (Pueblo West View)
I was at a girls soccer game once and the wind had kicked up quite a bit. It started getting bad.
It was probably blowing around 40 mph and the keeper for one of the teams set the ball up for a goal kick. The ball went into the air and immediately flew backwards into the net for an own goal.
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Dan Mohrmann (CHSAANow.com)
The first girls golf tournament I ever covered was the Class 4A tournament in Carbondale. Jennifer Kupcho had just won her second-straight title while Cheyenne Mountain won the team trophy.
The players were called into the clubhouse twice for rain and I was checking the weather quite a bit because I was driving back to Colorado Springs that day. The tournament finally ends and I get my stories written and jump in the car.
In Glenwood Springs, I get a call from a friend of mine who was a coach at that tournament. He told me it was starting to rain at Eisenhower Tunnel and it looked like it was going to turn to snow.
I made it to the top of Vail Pass in a two-wheel drive Kia sedan rental before getting hit by an all-out blizzard. To this day, I don’t know how I made it down into Frisco without crashing. It was probably one of the worst Colorado weather driving experiences I’ve ever had.
Since then, Kupcho has become the No. 1 women’s amateur in the world and the winner of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament.
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Dennis Pleuss (Jeffco Athletics)
After the “Bomb Cyclone” on Wednesday, March 13, I was planning on covering girls soccer – Green Mountain vs. Lakewood on March 15 at Lakewood Memorial Field. With only one stadium manager at LMF there was some doubt if we could get the field cleared, along with the sidewalks and stands ice and snow free before game time at 4 p.m.
I ended up going over to LMF around noon and shoveled sidewalks, along with the stands while the stadium manager Chris Gray could focus on getting the field plowed off. We got the OK by 2 p.m that the field would be playable. I continued clearing snow until about 3 p.m and then covered the game. Green Mountain took a 4-0 victory over Lakewood.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) [divider]
Kevin Lytle (The Coloradoan)
Every spring has a few of these days, but May of 2017 is one of the most memorable to me. I was halfway to Jeffco Stadium from Fort Collins when I received word the first day of the state track meet was shut down due to snow. I turned around and went home to go back to sleep.
But my most memorable crazy-weather game was in the state baseball tournament of 2017. Rocky Mountain led Mountain Vista 4-3 after six innings at All-City Stadium when rain started lashing down, forcing postponement. The finish of the game was moved to the next day, across the city to Metro State. I found a place to stay the night in Denver and went to Metro early the following day with Rocky Mountain needing three outs to make the title game. Of course, Mountain Vista scored to tie the game before the Lobos won with a walkoff in the bottom of the seventh. A two-site, two-day walkoff is hard to beat.
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Nick Rothschild (KRDO)
I believe it was last year at state track – I basically had to drive through a snow storm at the crack of dawn to get up to Jeffco. It was freezing cold and raining and everything was wet. Out of sheer luck I had a rain cover in my car so I managed to protect the camera but I was wearing running shoes and within the first eight minutes of walking around shooting video my feet were soaked. I was miserable.
I remember wondering how in the world these kids could run and compete in such terrible conditions – but to their credit they kicked butt and many of them found a way to enjoy the adversity.
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Marcus Hill (Pueblo Chieftain)
I believe it was in 2017 when I planned to cover state track and field (for the Salida Mountain Mail).
Well, Mother Nature decide to give us snow the day of the meet — as I was headed to Denver.
Then it was moved to Friday-Saturday. Instead of heading to Denver, I drove down to my mom’s house in Colorado Springs on Friday. In the midst of that, Mother Nature disrespected us again and forced the meet to go from Friday-Saturday to Saturday-Sunday.
Fortunately, Salida had a golfer in the Denver area as well as its baseball team.
So, I got a hotel for the night that was close to both. Then I learned weather could possibly delay both of those.
I stayed strong and didn’t cry.
Thankfully, everything went off as planned for golf and baseball.
It was a fiasco, but everything went well in the end. The joys of spring sports.
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Holy Family girls golf proving depth this spring
Whenever the Holy Family girls golf team has played over its first two seasons, the focus has always be on two-time Class 3A state champion Hailey Schalk.
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Jeffco student-athletes sign their National Letter of Intent
JEFFERSON COUNTY — It was another banner day for student-athletes in Jeffco Public Schools on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
More than 100 signed their National Letter of Intent to a wide range of colleges and universities across the country. Arvada West, Chatfield, Columbine, Dakota Ridge, Golden, Pomona and Ralston Valley all held celebrations Wednesday to honor their students who will continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level.
To date, more than 150 student-athletes from Jeffco have signed National Letter of Intents this school year. That number will surely grow with three more final signing days coming up April 1, May 15 and August 1.
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Jeffco’s signers on National Letter of Intent — Feb. 6
Arvada West High School
Christaana Angelopulos, softball, University of Wisconsin
Chase Biel, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Ashleigh Burr, women’s soccer, Colorado Mesa University
Cory Carignan, football, Minot State University
Anthony Cass, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Timothy English, football, Presentation College
Dominic Folks, baseball, Barstow College
Christopher Gist, football, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Makenna Fowler, women’s soccer, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Gianna Haley, softball, Black Hills State University
Mark Hunter, baseball, Blue Mountain College
Madison Johnson, women’s soccer, Wayne State College
Latham Kleckner, men’s soccer, Gustavus Adolphus College
Johnny Krutsch, football, Bethel University
Brady Legault, football, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Chris McEahern, football, Colorado State University
Ella McShane, women’s swimming & diving, Chapman University
AJ Ortez, football, Fort Lewis College
Theresa Price, women’s tennis, Hastings College
Devin Smith, cross country & track, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Dori Sterne, women’s soccer, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Michael Vandenberg, football, Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityBear Creek High School
Megan McGriff, women’s lacrosse, Marietta CollegeChatfield Senior High School
Sam Low, baseball, Mesa Community College
Luke Lachance, baseball, Doane University
Ben Kornegay, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Jack Kornegay, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Dalton Dillard, baseball, Barstow Community College
Julia Geiger, volleyball, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Kayleigh Conner, volleyball, Doane University
Alexa Alameddin, volleyball, Fort Lewis College
Tedy Reed, women’s basketball, Colorado College
Bailey Truex, women’s lacrosse, Fresno State University
Kevin Peterson, men’s soccer, Colorado College
Noah Haddad, men’s soccer, Radford University
Christian Holmes, men’s tennis, Utah State University
Anthony Johnston, football, Western Colorado University
Broc Doughty, football, Bethany College
Cameron Austin, football, Bethany College
Sydney Williams, cross country/track, Colorado School of MinesColumbine High School
Jake Gimbel, baseball, Lamar College
Chance Goodson, baseball, Southeast Community College
Braiden Fritz, baseball, Hastings College
Logan DeArment, football, Colorado School of Mines
Cole Parrott, football, University of Northern Colorado
Evan Durbin, football, Drake University
Ben Earnest, football, Kearney University
Jaden Armbrust, football, Concordia University
Cody Ramming, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Corbin Curry, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Grant Keim, football, Luther College
Maddie Hadden, women’s rugby, Central Washington
Taryn Elsner, women’s soccer, Knox College
Kelsey Akins, volleyball, Lake Forrest College
Grayson Mix, men’s water polo, University of California-San Diego
Teagan Simons, men’s lacrosse, Monmouth CollegeDakota Ridge High School
Joseph Ashley, men’s golf, Buena Vista University
Andrew Eickelman, men’s lacrosse, Colorado Mesa University
Jacob Eickelman, men’s lacrosse, Colorado Mesa University
Riley Fisher, men’s lacrosse, Colorado Mesa University
Ryan Kissinger, men’s lacrosse, Colorado Mesa University
Jackson Lamb, men’s basketball, Case Western Reserve
Elliot Pigati, baseball, Alvin Community College
Ryan Stohr, baseball, Air Force Academy
Austin Vancil, cross country, University of ColoradoD’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School
Isabella Porreco, softball, Yavapai CollegeGolden High School
Elizabeth Henshaw, women’s soccer, Culver-Stockton (MO)
Katie Dunson, softball, Lamar Community College
Jonah Wimbish, boys soccer, Augustana (IL)
Jack Walters, football, Colorado School of MinesLakewood High School
Pierce Holley, football, Georgetown University
Jacob Brunner, men’s lacrosse, Johns Hopkins University
Elyse Hatch Rivera, women’s soccer, Macalester College
Isaac Garcia, men’s swimming, St. Ambrose UniversityPomona High School
Justin Pacheco, wrestling, Air Force Academy
Theorius Robison, wrestling, University of Northern Colorado
Colten Yapoujian, wrestling, Cornell University
Brooke Weins, gymnastics, University of Oklahoma
David Ross, football, University of Northern Colorado
Colten Muller, football, Colorado Mesa University
Luke Rohweder, football, Colorado Mesa University
Jack Thiele, football, University of Wyoming (preferred walk-on)
Billy Pospisil, football, Washington State University (early graduate)
Michael Marquez, football, Dakota College at Bottinuea
Jaime Wolf, softball, Garden City Community College
Peyton Westphal, women’s soccer, Hastings College
Jim Gassman, baseball, Tabor College
Trevor Abernathy, baseball, Marshalltown Community College
Cameron Berthold, men’s golf, Southern Virginia UniversityRalston Valley High School
Peyton Anderson, women’s ice hockey, Northeastern University
Savannah Brown, women’s soccer, Johnson and Wales University
Mackenzie Friedman, women’s rowing, University of Wisconsin
Levi Johnson, football, Colorado School of Mines
Jessica Lemmon, women’s soccer, Laramie County Community College
Keaton Maring, men’s swimming, SUNY Oswego
Lexi Mueldener, women’s golf, Grinnell College
Maya Provencal, women’s track, Duke University
Brad Roberts, football, Air Force Academy
Ben Schneider, football, University of Northern Colorado
Tanner Spirek, men’s lacrosse, Colorado Mesa University
Isaac Townsend, football, University of Oregon[divider]
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Jeffco student-athletes sign National Letter of Intent with service academies
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) JEFFERSON COUNTY — Of the nearly 50 student-athletes from Jeffco Public Schools that signed their National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, two are heading to United States service academics.
Lakewood senior Amber Boll — Class 5A gymnastics all-around state champion — is headed to the Air Force Academy. D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School senior Taylor Gustafson is headed to the United State Coast Guard Academy to continue his lacrosse career.
Boll wrapped up her final year competing on Lakewood’s gymnastics team a few weeks ago in perfect style. She scored the first perfect 10 during the state meet in 30 years while sweeping all five individual events.
“It has been an honor to represent Lakewood through gymnastics,” Boll said during the signing celebration Wednesday morning. “It’s an experience I will never forget.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Her plans down in Colorado Springs is to continue her gymnastics career, study mechanical engineering to eventually become a pilot.
Gustafson has been a mainstay playing lacrosse at Columbine for the past three seasons, including his two goals and assist performance in last spring’s 5A state quarterfinal game. The Rebels defeated powerhouse Cherry Creek 6-5 to advance to the state semifinals.
The D’Evelyn student-athlete has one more season on the lacrosse field with Columbine before heading to New London, Conn. to play for the Coast Guard Academy.
“I’ve had the desire ever since I was young to service my country,” Gustafson said during D’Evelyn’s afternoon signing ceremony. “I was truly inspired by my grandfather.”
Gustafson’s grandfather was a marine and served in Vietnam.
Gustafson said he started the recruiting process early. As so as his freshman year he started contacting colleges. He made a visit to the Coast Guard Academy two years ago and went through a quasi-military experience over this past summer that confirmed his desire to enter the service academy.
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Jeffco’s signers on National Letter of Intent (Early Period) — Nov. 14
Lakewood High School
Simon Baumgardt, baseball, Tulane University
Amber Boll, gymnastics, Air Force Academy
Brittany Bui, softball, North Platte Community College
Hannah Hayden, volleyball, Montana State University-Billings
Brayden Roybal, baseball, Concordia University-St. Paul
Macee Thompson, volleyball, Onondaga Community CollegeConifer High School
Drew Sims, softball, Colorado Mesa University
Elizabeth Betsch, softball, Otero Junior CollegeEvergreen High School
Brett Bokelman, baseball, Rhodes College (Memphis, TN.)
Christina Crane, women’s swimming, University of Iowa
Claudia Dillon, volleyball, University of Missouri
Claire Donlan, rowing, University of Wisconsin
Anna LaDow, squash, Cornell University
Mackenzie Obleski, volleyball, Pacific Union College (Napa Valley, CA.)Columbine High School
Gavin Olson, men’s swimming, University of Minnesota
Libby Spangler, women’s soccer, Minnesota State University
Alea Tooley, women’s lacrosse, University of Denver
Maura Singer, women’s basketball, University of Colorado
Taylor Juran, women’s swimming, University of Idaho
Melaini Jamison, women’s soccer, Wayne State College
Lexi Porter, women’s soccer, Colorado College
Tessa Barton, women’s soccer, University of Colorado
Erin Harnum, women’s swimming, Washington State UniversityRalston Valley High School
Madison DeHerrera, women’s soccer, Southern Utah University
Sydney Eye, women’s golf, Metro State University
Nicholas Fox, men’s swimming, University of Florida
Calvin Hunt, baseball, University of Arkansas-Little Rock
AJ Jergensen, baseball, University of San Diego
Zach Lingk, baseball, North Park University
Shelby Nichols, women’s basketball, Colorado School of Mines
Sarah Piper, women’s soccer, Duke University
Abriana Trujillo, softball, Colorado School of Mines
Otto Jones, baseball, Washburn University
Sydney Stewart, softball, Trinidad State CollegeD’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School
Laryssa Hamblen, women’s soccer, Brown University
Shiloh Miller, women’s soccer, Rice University
Isabella Scaturro, women’s soccer, University of Alabama
Taylor Gustafson, men’s lacrosse, United States Coast Guard AcademyDakota Ridge High School
Logan Triplett, women’s lacrosse, University of Tampa
Sydney Daniels, women’s basketball, Regis University
Olivia Dampier, softball, Metro State University of DenverGreen Mountain High School
Rylie Haussler, women’s soccer, University of Houston
Shelby Ransom, women’s soccer, Colorado State University-PuebloPomona High School
Brooke Weins, women’s gymnastics, University of OklahomaJefferson Academy
Mira Houck, women’s soccer, Metro State University of Denver
Kristen Capan, women’s soccer, Colorado Mesa UniversityStandley Lake High School
Kelsey Clements, women’s soccer, Presentation College, Aberdeen, SD
Ceceila Elliott, softball, Otero Junior College
Brianna Ynostroza, softball, York CollegeGolden High School
Elizabeth Henshaw, women’s soccer, Culver-Stockton College (MO)
Katie Dunson, softball, Lamar Community College[divider]
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Colorado Academy’s Jordaan twins looking for big senior years in boys tennis and girls golf
Richter Jordaan (far right) is looking for his first boys tennis championship in 2018. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) When Caroline and Richter Jordaan were asked how many strokes Richter needed to be competitive against Caroline on the golf course, they came up with a very similar answer.
Richter needs about four or five shots. Per hole.
Not four or five shots per side?
“I’d say four shots a hole,” Caroline said. “He hasn’t played in a few years.”
Since he was nine-years-old, specifically.
Still an athlete, Richter plays at a high level when it comes to the Mustangs boys tennis team. He’s finished third in the No. 1 singles bracket the last two years. He finished second in No. 2 singles as a freshman.
Growing up, he just decided that tennis was the way to go for him, just as golf was the way for Caroline to go.
“We played on the soccer team when we were little, and we played golf and tennis together,” Richter said. “I ended up being better at tennis and I just started playing more and she was the same way with golf. Eventually we just ended up sticking with those sports.”
And they got better the older they got. So putting a more realistic number out there, could Richter compete with Caroline with just one shot a hole, so 36 in a given round?
“I doubt it,” he said.
His strength is on the tennis court which is also where Caroline fell off. If the tables were turned and they were playing tennis, it would be Richter having to spot Caroline some sets.
“Everything,” she says firmly.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) For these twins siblings, the 2018-19 athletic season is the last chance for both of them to capture something that has been elusive for the last three years. They’re competitors and they want to win. And just win occasionally.
They want to be the best.
Caroline — and their younger sister, Marie — have experienced the thrill of winning a team state championship for Colorado Academy. But Caroline has yet to capture an individual title.
He took second in 2016 and 2018 and tied for third in 2017.
Richter has run into two buzzsaws in the No. 1 singles tennis brackets. In 2016 he suffered a quarterfinal loss to Kent Denver’s Casey Ross who went on to claim the state title. He advanced to the semis a year ago and fell to Peak to Peak’s Brett Finan, another eventual state champion.
With 2018 being his last chance, he wants to get back to Pueblo City Park and make a run at a Class 4A championship, not just for himself but for his entire team.
“I would definitely want to win state individually and as a team,” he said. “I learned from playing against Bret that I need a stronger first serve. I also need to be more aggressive from the baseline. He was definitely more aggressive than I was on the big points. I’ve been working to improve that part of my game and I’m hoping that I can show that strength this year at state.”
Still months away from the start of golf season, his sister shares the same feeling. Every time she takes the course for the Mustangs, she aims to perform at her best knowing that her success creates a better chance for a team title. In this aspect, the sibling are truly on the same page.
“I don’t know what his approach is, but I do know that he wants to win both all the time,” Caroline said. “I’m the same way, but in my freshman year, it wasn’t too difficult for our team to win state, so I was more focused on the individual title.”
It would be a fitting stamp to put on the end of their high school careers in their respective sports. It’s fairly common to see siblings take on the same challenges as Marie and Caroline have. The twins decided to take a divide and conquer approach.
“We’ve kind of made the Jordaan name significant in these sports, which is really cool especially since it’s not all in the same thing,” Caroline said. “We’re covering multiple sports. Growing up, it was really fun because we’re all competitive and we always had someone we can try to beat.”
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Strasburg’s golf program has installed an on-campus putting green
(Photo: Teresa Roy) This season, when Strasburg’s golf team needs to practice putting, they need only take a short walk across campus.
That’s because the school has installed an on-campus synthetic putting green, believed to be the first in the state.
The green started as a senior project of Veronica Davis and Sabrina Ganger, two Strasburg students who were on the girls golf team.
“Most senior projects, they paint something, or they build a bench,” said Eric Gilbert, who coaches both the boys and girls golf teams at Strasburg. “This was very significant. This is not typical. What’s so unique is that it really is something that’s needed for our area, and for our program.”
Davis and Ganger worked with Davis’ mother, Teresa Roy, and Gilbert. The group talked with Jeffrey Rasp, Strasburg’s principal, and Michelle Woodard, the AD, and Monica Johnson, the superintendent of Strasburg School District. They also coordinated with Phil Redgate, who manages the school’s facilities.
(Eric Gilbert/Strasburg HS) Davis and Ganger eventually presented a plan to the school board.
“They just envisioned something that not only our school can use, but our community of Strasburg, as well,” Gilbert said. “We put our heads together. I sort of gave them a guide and direction to go, and eventually our girls — we did a couple of different fundraisers, and between the moms and the daughters and myself, we found a couple of local donors.
“I’d always dreamt about having some sort of a practice facility on campus,” Gilbert added. “Out where we’re at, we don’t really have a championship-style golf course.”
Strasburg typically practices at Quint Valley Golf Club, a nine-hole course in Byers.
The on-campus green, which is 500 square feet, is large enough to accommodate eight to 10 players at once. It was built in May.
“The goal was to somehow to get a 25-foot putt,” Gilbert said. “If you teach golf, in order to teach a reasonable lag putt, it’s got to be over 20 feet. We wanted to have something that we could have a longer putt, but also use quadrants.”
It will get its first real use this fall when boys practice begins on Aug. 6.
“It’s really been a blessing,” Gilbert said. “I really think it’s going to help sustain our program, and it gives you a little bit more — we’re in a totally non-traditional golf community, being on the (I-70) corridor.”
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Colorado golfers fail to advance in USGA Junior Amateur championship
Dillon Stewart. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) Fossil Ridge’s Dillon Stewart was so close to repeating what Davis Bryant and Jackson Solem were able to do a year ago.
After Day 1 of the 2018 USGA Junior Amateur championship at Baltursol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., Stewart was inside the cut line and looked like he could advance to the match play portion of the tournament. But a string of bogeys on the back nine of his second round proved to be just enough to keep him out.
Stewart shot a 5-over-par-76 in the second round to finish his tournament at 8-over. Eight players were tied in 62nd place, with only three advancing after a playoff.
Smoky Hill’s Chris Kennedy was also in the field for the boys. He shot a 76 in the first round, which meant he had ground to make up for on Tuesday.
A triple-bogey on No. 2 and a double-bogey on No. 8 killed any momentum he hoped to build on the day. He finished with a string of eight-straight pars, but shot a 79 to end his week at 14-over.
Both players will return for their senior seasons in the fall. Stewart finished second in last year’s Class 5A state tournament, losing to Eaglecrest’s Bryant, who along with Silver Creek’s Solem advanced to match play in last year’s Junior Amateur. Stewart and Bryant were the only two golfers end the state tournament under par.
Kennedy finished tied for 15th.
Broomfield’s Meghan Vogt qualified for this year’s Junior Girls Amateur. She finished the second round of stroke play at 26-over to miss the match play cut.