Three different Aurora programs appear on the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Golf Team, which includes tandems from Grandview and Regis Jesuit, in addition to Vista PEAK Prep sophomore Sophia Capua.
The Wolves’ duo of senior Caroline Ryan and sophomore Jean Lim and the Raiders’ tandem of junior Audrey Whitmore and sophomore Natalie Furgason earned spots along with Capua based primarily on performance at state tournaments.
Whitmore was the only one of the group to earn a medal as one of the state’s top-10 finishers, which she secured with her best performance in three trips to the state tournament. She was 45th in 2022 as a freshman, surged to 18th as a sophomore and then tied for ninth with a two-day score of 152 (courtesy of rounds of 75 and 77) as the leader for coach Charlie Rutenbeck’s senior-less Regis Jesuit team.
The ninth-place finish was the first top-10 result for a Regis Jesuit girls golfer at the state tournament since Katie Berrian came in third in the 2019 5A state tournament, which was shortened to one round due to weather.
Whitmore’s improvement in results coincided with her increased dedication to the sport. She came into her junior season with lofty goals and played well along the way, with four rounds in the 70s during the regular season, including a low score of plus-1 73 in a third-place finish at the Heather Cho Memorial tournament April 11.
The first-time All-Aurora selection shot 78 or lower in her last five rounds and finished in the top nine of those four tournaments.
Ryan was the city’s most seasoned player in terms of state experience as she qualified in each of her four varsity seasons. Though Ryan shaved two strokes off her state total as compared to last season, it resulted in a lower final finish in a loaded tournament, as she was 20th after she ended up in a tie for 17th in 2023.
During the regular season, Ryan — who signed with the University of Wyoming, where her older sister, Morgan, played — was one of the Centennial League’s top players, as she finished in the top four individually in every tournament. She won the league meet at Saddle Rock G.C. by two strokes and also tied for first in the tournament at Aurora Hills G.C., while she was second at both Murphy Creek G.C. and Foothills G.C.
Ryan is a two-time All-Aurora performer.
Coach Kurtis Bailey’s Grandview team ended up without a team score when its third qualifier withdrew after the first round, but Lim — a first-time state qualifier — played some of her best golf of the season with rounds of 92 and 91 for a two-day total of 183.
That was the third-lowest score among city players and earned her 52nd place and her first spot on the All-Aurora team. Lim’s best round of the season was an 87 that came April 29 at the Bruin Invitational at Overland Park G.C., which led to her highest finish on the leaderboard with a tie for 10th place.
Regis Jesuit had four state qualifiers and two of them were new, including Furgason, whose sister, Paige, also was a state qualifier.
Natalie Furgason finished with the fourth-lowest score among Aurora players in the 5A state tournament with a two-day total of 188 (on rounds of 97 and 91) that gave her a 57th-place finish.
Her best score of the campaign came with an 88 at the Heather Cho Memorial and the first time All-Aurora performer hovered around the top 20 of just about every tournament she played during the season.
Capua won a medal last season in her debut varsity season, as the Vista PEAK Prep standout — one of just players for the program who appeared in nearly ever tournament all season — tied for ninth.
With hopes to match or improve on that result, Capua had another outstanding regular season playing in tournaments in the City League, as she was champion of the league meet played at Wellshire G.C. April 3 and finished second twice.
At the 4A Region 4 tournament at Foothills G.C., Capua shot even-par 72 (her best round of the season) to finish third behind only Erie’s Logan Hale and Hadley Ashton, who went to finish first and third at the state tournament and help the Tigers to a team win. Capua is a two-time All-Aurora Team member.
HONORABLE MENTION: The All-Aurora honorable mention list includes senior Maddie Dossey, who became Gateway’s first state qualifier since 2012 when she made the 3A tournament along with Aurora’s other state qualifiers from Cherokee Trail (freshmen Brinnon Cook and Kaylee Saul), Regis Jesuit (junior Paige Furgason and freshman Molly Amann) and Grandview (senior Ella Wheeler). Also on the list is Rangeview senior De’Coda High, who earned a spot in the 5A state tournament out of the Western Region, but didn’t play.
