With a later start to the season than much of the state, the Moffat County girls golf program has been prepping intensely in recent weeks — and the results have been showing.

MCHS started swinging competitively with its first tournaments of the spring taking place in Montrose.

The Bulldogs hit the links at Cobble Creek on Monday, and an event followed the next day at Black Canyon. The latter tourney was a better outcome for the Craig group, as it placed fifth among 12 teams attending with a combined score of 295.

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Senior Arianna Anderson shot a 94 to tie for 12th place out of 54 athletes, followed by freshman Lizzie Burkett tied for 18th with a 98. Anderson broke even on five holes and birdied the 11th at Black Canyon, while Burkett parred three holes and shot no higher than a 7 on the day.

Senior Taylor Powell scored 103, with freshman Joslyn Curtis ending the day at 140.

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The difference between the back-to-back Montrose events was apparent, with Cobble Creek proving far more challenging for the full MoCo team as Anderson led with a 116.

Coach Tim Adams said it was beneficial to have a trickier trial to start the season.

“Cobble Creek is a more difficult course, and Black Canyon is a more fair test,” Adams said.

While CHSAA rules allow schools to start spring sports practices as early as mid-February, MCHS is among the teams who are only now getting into their schedule.

After a slow start, the Bulldogs got full practices underway during the first week of April at Yampa Valley Golf Course. And though later than they’d like, it’s a step up from the significant winter holdover last year.

“Last year, I think we were still having to go to Rifle to practice at this time,” Adams said.

This year marks a return to the sport for Powell, who sat out her junior year due to a busy workload. However, as a qualifier for the state tournament in both her freshman and sophomore seasons, she decided she wanted to take a shot at making the cut a third time.

“I wanted to make a comeback and finish strong for my senior year,” Powell said. “I’m adjusting, getting back into the rhythm of things. I’d say I’m still pretty good at driving, I just need to work on the short game and irons. We’ve been practicing those a lot, and I’m feeling more confident.”

A schedule that includes nearby golf spots all spring, a regional event in May will benefit Powell thanks to multiple past events played at Alamosa’s Cattails Golf Course.

“For Taylor, that’s a course that she’s really familiar with and one that’s really similar to ours, so that’ll be nice,” Adams said.

Anderson joined the program last year as a junior and also made it to the 3A state championships, tying for 63rd.

Besides aiming for a return to that event — this year hosted in Loveland — Anderson is hoping to receive a college scholarship in the sport. To do so, she’s planning to spend a lot more time at YVGC.

“I’m hoping to work at the golf course because if I get a job here, I’ll be out on the course a lot and be able to do more solo golf,” Anderson said.

The younger golfers’ first time on the team is hardly their introduction to the sport. Both Burkett and Curtis — each of whom also competed in volleyball and basketball this school year — have spent a good amount of time on the links, helped along by family members.

“I’ve been golfing since I was a little baby, and my grandpa’s a really good golfer and really inspires me,” Curtis said. “I really need to work on my driving, but I’ve been really good at putting out here so far.”

MCHS will play tourneys this week in Aspen and Carbondale, and with half the team in their first year and others in their last year as Bulldogs, the elder members are aiming to be mentors as much as they can.

“I just hope I can make the freshmen feel comfortable with playing with older girls,” Powell said.