They didn’t win a state championship like they had the previous season, but members of the Regis Jesuit girls golf team came away very satisfied from the 2013 season.
Moving up from Class 4A — where they captured last season’s state championship, their second in three years — the Raiders were more than pleased to finish third in their first 5A state tournament, coming in only behind powerhouses Cherry Creek and Arapahoe in two days of play May 21-22 at Grand Junction’s Tiara Rado Golf Course.
The Regis Jesuit trio of senior Sofia Vigil, sophomore Sydney Gillespie and freshman Mary Weinstein make up most of the 2013 Aurora Sentinel All-City Girls Golf Team, which is based on performance at the 5A state tournament.
Grandview freshman phenom Morgan Sahm and Eaglecrest veteran Jamie Griffin round out Aurora’s top fivesome.
Regis Jesuit coach George Miller thought his team would stack up well in its first season moving up to the state’s largest classification, despite the graduation of standout Kathleen Kershisnick, and the Raiders proved him right.
The leadership of seniors Vigil and Lauren Richardson, the improvement of Gillespie and the addition of the talented Weinstein led to a strong season in which the Raiders more than held their own against Continental League competition and qualified a three-player team for the state tournament. Richardson almost joined them, but missed out by just a stroke in a fantastic regional round marred only by a 12 on one hole.
Gillespie finished particularly strong at state with a 4-over-par 76 in her second round, which lifted her into a tie for seventh place overall (at 157 total), the same place graduated Overland standout SeungHa Choi took last season to lead city golfers.
Two practice rounds and the opening round, plus a course plan mapped by Grand Junction native and former University of Denver golfer Melissa Martin gave Gillespie the tools she needed to close strong.
“I was really happy with the way I played that second day; I didn’t quite score the way I wanted to on the first day,” said Gillespie, who shot five strokes better than her first-round 81 with improved accuracy and a reliable short game.
Gillespie, who tied for fifth place in 4A last season, made the All-City first team for the second time.
Vigil — also a two-time All-City first teamer — had to make a total of three trips to and from Grand Junction over a span of three days as state coincided with graduation.
Vigil attended Regis Jesuit’s annual senior dinner and mass on May 19, then got in the car with her family and trekked 260 miles to Grand Junction, arriving about eight hours before her 8:30 a.m. tee time on May 20.
Following her first round, Vigil headed back to Denver to join her Regis Jesuit classmates for graduation at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver. She arrived just 10 minutes before the ceremony began, but got to enjoy it before heading back to Grand Junction, where she arrived around 3:30 a.m.
Vigil teed off her second round at 9:42 a.m. May 21 and finished with an 84, which combined with the 82 she shot the first day put her in a tie for 23rd overall at 166.
All things considered, Vigil — who is headed to play at Lewis & Clark next year — was more proud with her team’s effort than her own at state.
“I expected a lot from this team and so I’m very proud of what we did,” said Vigil, who was part of Regis Jesuit’s 4A state championship teams in 2010 and 2012. “I knew we could do well going up to 5A.”
Weinstein fell ill before state and had to put a tissue box in her bag, but ground her way to rounds of 82 and 81 to tie for 19th.
Diminutive, but powerful off the tee, Weinstein is hoping an emphasis on her short game — chipping primarily — can help her rise in the individual standings in 2014.
“State did not go as well as I thought it would, but I’ll practice and get ready for next season,” said Weinstein, the younger sister of Chris Weinstein, who helped the Regis Jesuit boys team win the 5A state championship in 2010.
Sahm had an outstanding debut season as was anticipated after she qualified for and played in the 36th U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in Neshanic Station, N.J., last summer. She was the only Colorado qualifier in the tournament that included 156 of the best public course players from across the country.
While enjoying the team aspect of high school golf, Sahm fit right in among the top players in the Centennial League from Cherry Creek and Arapahoe from the start, and joined several of them in the top 10 of the individual standings by taking ninth overall.
“My goal was to win, but I was OK with how I ended,” said Sahm, who shot 79 in both her state rounds. “I could have played a lot better, but I’m OK with top 10.”
While the four other All-City team members played in the 5A state tournament for the first time, it was the fourth career trip for Griffin, who had rounds of 81 and 83.
Griffin finished tied for 19th overall, the second-best finish of her career following an 18th-place showing in 2012. She took 28th as a freshman and 31st as a sophomore.
“I made a lot of good friends, met a lot of great people and played a lot of great courses,” said Griffin, who is headed to study golf management next year at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
“I bettered myself every year and that’s all you can ask for,” added the three-time All-City first team selection.
The Rangeview duo of junior Julia Kim and sophomore Jasmine Trevizo received honorable mention All-City honors.
Kim played in her second straight 5A state tournament and shot a two-day total of 194 (with rounds of 93 and 101) to finish 54th, a 17-place improvement from her debut in 2012.
Trevizo struggled in her first state appearance and finished 82nd in the field 0f 83 players.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2013 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-CITY GIRLS GOLF TEAM
FIRST TEAM: Sydney Gillespie, Regis Jesuit, soph.; Jamie Griffin, Eaglecrest, sr.; Morgan Sahm, Grandview, fr.; Sofia Vigil, Regis Jesuit, sr.; Mary Weinstein, Regis Jesuit, fr.
HONORABLE MENTION: Julia Kim, Rangeview, jr.; Jasmine Trevizo, Rangeview, soph.
