Niwot finishes seventh at Class 4A Regionals

The Niwot girls golf season came to an unexpectedly early end at the Class 4A Region 4 tournament last Friday. With a team score of 326 (+110), the Cougars finished seventh in the 10-team field, and no individual golfer qualified for the upcoming state tournament.

Niwot head coach Ed Weaver was philosophical about his team’s struggles at Murphy Creek, and even if it wasn’t the fairytale ending he was hoping for, he nonetheless considers the 2017 a success.

“We had an interesting year,” he said, referring to some of off-field issues. “But the way we persevered through some of the adversity has been good.”

Weaver said it was also a good learning experience for his emerging golfers.

“We had three underclassmen at the regional tournament,” he said. “It was great experience for them to play at that level.”

Freshman Julia Solem was once again the Cougars’ top finisher on the day, with a 105, which was good for 22nd place, but three strokes shy of qualifying for state. Solem is the second alternate for the tournament, and will play if two or more qualified players drop out.

Solem’s +33 was her highest round since March, and Weaver blames his young number one’s off-day on a case of big-tournament nerves.

“She was calm as I’ve seen her in any tournament until she shot a nine [on hole 10],” he said. “The wheels kind of came off after that. But for a freshman at that level, she was fine.”

As for the rest of the team, junior Mya Ostrom shot a 108 (+37), and came in 24th place, just behind Solem . Freshman Trinity Pleffner (+40) was 29th, and junior Avery-Grace Blanco did not finish.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Weaver is nonetheless looking on the bright side, and predicts he’ll see his young squad develop into a winning team.

“That’s the first time Trinity has played at that level, and Mya improved over last year to this year,” he said. “We’re well set-up for next year.”

Class 4A Region 4 Tournament, Murphy Creek, May 5

Team scores — Loveland 235, Glenwood Springs 261, Vista PEAK 270, Northridge 286, Montrose 299, Mountain View 305, Niwot 326, Durango 334, GJ Central 336, Silver Creek 345.

Niwot results — 22. Julia Solem 103; t24. Mya Ostrom 109; 29. Trinity Pleffner 112. Avery-Grace Blanco, DQ.