AURORA | Cherokee Trail’s Alissa Rhee’s second career berth in the Class 5A girls state golf tournament was a year and nine days in the making.
The senior shot a 16-over 88 in her round at the 5A Metro East Regional at Aurora Hills Golf Course on May 7 — six shots better than what she scored in a Centennial League meet on the same course a month earlier — then won a one-hole playoff against Heritage’s Erica Truong to win first alternate honors.
It paid off for her on Wednesday, when Rhee — who qualified for the 2010 state meet as a sophomore — was added to the 84-golfer field for the May 21-22 5A state tournament. According to Colorado High School Activities Association Assistant Commissioner Tom Robinson, who oversees golf, each of the four regional qualifying tournaments were given a rough number of qualifiers based on the number of golfers expected to tee off. Those numbers were adjusted based on how many golfers actually played and the Metro West tournament had six or seven fewer golfers than expected, which decreased its number of qualifiers by one.
Rhee — who was the second alternate out of the Metro East Regional in 2011 — has a 10 a.m. tee time on May 21, playing with Ralston Valley’s Ashlyn Kirschner and Highlands Ranch’s Dani Listiadji.
She is one of seven Aurora golfers in the field at Aurora Hills, joining Overland’s Seung Ha Choi and Soleil Worthy, Rangeview’s Julia Kim and Danae Bushman, Eaglecrest’s Jamie Griffin and Gateway’s Malorie Williamson.
If Rhee is unable to play, Truong would be added to the field.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
