State golf: Persson, Aspen girls in third place after Day 1 at the Olde Course
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The Aspen High School girls golf team finished Day 1 of the Class 3A state championships on Monday in third place, with two players sitting in the top 10 at the Olde Course in Loveland.
The Skiers shot a collective 260 and trail second-placed St. Mary’s Academy by a single stroke. The midway leader is Prospect Ridge, which shot 249 to hold a 10-shot lead over the Wildcats and is clear of Aspen by 11 strokes. Colorado Academy lingers in fourth place after shooting 265, and Peak to Peak is fifth with 267.
As expected, St. Mary’s senior Maddy Bante is the leader in the clubhouse after shooting 1-under-par 71, the only player in the red. Bante is seeking her third straight individual championship; only three players in the history of Colorado girls golf have ever won as many titles.
Chasing Bante is Prospect Ridge junior Hope Torres, who sits in second and trails by three strokes after shooting 2-over 74. There is a three-way tie for third place after Round 1, a list that includes AHS junior Lenna Persson. The regional champion shot 7-over 79 and trails Bante by eight shots going into the final round. Tied with Persson are Salida junior Kyndra Johnson and Rye junior Emma Garcia.
Tied for ninth place are Aspen senior Brooke O’Sullivan and Manitou Springs freshman Addison Dorsey, who each shot 12-over 84, leaving them 13 back of Bante.
Aspen’s third score came from junior Audrey Woodrow, who shot one of her better high school rounds on Monday. She finished with 97, which has her in a three-way tie for 38th place. Aspen’s fourth golfer, junior Madison Nelson, shot 111 and sits in a tie for 68th place.
After opening on the 10th hole in Round 1, Aspen’s top three golfers will now tee off from the first hole on Tuesday. Persson will play in the second-to-last group, teeing off at 9:30 a.m. alongside Garcia and Timnath freshman CheyAnne Schrick. The lead group of Bante, Torres and Johnson tee off at 9:40 a.m.
O’Sullivan will hit the course at 9:10 a.m., and Woodrow at 7:40 a.m., both from the first hole. Nelson will tee off from the 10th hole beginning at 8:55 a.m.
Aspen’s best team finish came last spring, when it tied for second place with Peak to Peak while hosting the 3A finale at Aspen Golf Club. St. Mary’s won its third straight team title last year in Aspen, and is chasing a fourth on Tuesday in Loveland.
Preps: Five AHS athletes celebrated, girls golf finishes fourth at state
The season came to an end Tuesday for the Aspen High School girls golf team, which finished fourth after the final day of the 3A state championships in Loveland.
