THORNTON | Brutal conditions made the opening day of the Class 5A girls state golf tournament a significant challenge for a field of 13 qualifiers from Aurora area programs, who had largely better finishes in the May 19 second round.
Cold, wind and non-stop rain May 18 forced adjustments and mental fortitude — which was reflected in mostly inflated scores, while one area player withdrew afterward — but seven of the 12 locals who finished shot better in calmer conditions at Thorncreek G.C.
Regis Jesuit finished fifth as a team with a 20-stroke margin over Cherokee Trail, which came in seventh, while Grandview finished in 14th place in a field of 17 teams with at least the three players qualified to get a team score.
Leading the way for the Raiders was senior Natalie Furgason, a multiple-time state qualifier who tied for 15th individually. Furgason managed a plus-8 80 in the conditions of the opening round and followed that up with an 84 (in a round that included three birdies) for a two-day total of 164.
Furgason finished with two-stroke margin over junior teammate Emily Gott to lead the way for coach Kathleen Sieg’s Regis Jesuit team. Gott made birdies on two of her final five holes to finish with an 82, which was a two-stroke improvement over her opening round.
The Raiders’ third score came from sophomore Claire Pariset, who shaved eight strokes off her first round score with an 83 to finish at 174. It was one stroke in front of Regis Jesuit’s final participant, as junior Molly Amann shot 88 on the second day and 175 for the tournament.
Cherokee Trail’s leader was junior Marisa Vialpando, who shot 85 in both rounds to finish in a tie for 26th place, while put her one stroke and two places clear of junior teammate Brinnon Cook. Vialpando made par on the final three holes of her tournament, including on the par-4 Hole No. 18 on which she made double bogey in the first round.
Cook paced the Cougars up until the last three holes, where three straight bogies brought her in with a score of 84, which was still a three-stroke drop from the opening round. Senior Saruul Gantulga came next for coach Justin Jajczyk’s Cougars (182) tied for 42nd wih rounds of 89 and 93, while senior Maya Patel shaved 13 strokes off her opening round with a 90 that put her in a tie for 62nd.
All three of the scoring players for coach Kurtis Bailey’s Grandview team — senior Jean Lim (who shot 90 in the second round to tie for 46th), junior Elizabeth Chang (whose 92 lifted her into 55th) and senior Charly Ashworth (who shot 91 — an eight-stroke improvement from the opening round — to tie for 59th )— had better second rounds.
Junior Jacqueline Cho shot eight strokes better in the opening round than in the second and finished wita two-day total of 194 that was good for a tie for 64th.
Smoky Hill freshman Erianna Perez shot plus-21 in the opening round and withdrew.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
