Niwot girls finally open season

Thanks to a snowy start to March, the 2022 golf season was delayed until after spring break, but the Niwot girls seem to have made the most of their extra time to practice. In two events during the final week of the month, the Cougars posted two top-five finishes and, to coach Ed Weaver's delight, showed signs that the best is still yet to come.

"It was a solid performance all around, from the senior to the new freshmen," he said after Niwot's fourth-place finish among the 17 teams at the PSD Invitational at Harmony Club golf course in Timnath on March 31. "Alena [Kasanicky] showed a lot of composure for a young player, and it was good to see Mina [O'Dell] turn in such a great round today."

Indeed, it would be unfair to describe Kasanicky's debut week as anything short of impressive. In the opener, a Longs Peak League event at Greeley's Highland Hills golf course on March 29, she finished fourth overall out of 66 golfers, though it was a less than perfect round, Weaver said. Nor did she have a perfect round two days later in Timnath, but behind consistent putting and long drives, she carded four birdies on the day to come in just two strokes over par (74), which was good for seventh place in a field that included some of the top players in the state.

"Alena's just getting warmed up," Weaver said. "She's very steady, and playing without a lot of drama. In golf, being boring is a compliment. Not to call Alena boring, but I don't see her making many double bogeys, and she's gonna make her fair share of birdies.

The PSD Invite also saw the high school debut of Ayla Schatz, another newcomer to the team. Despite a rough start that Weaver chalked up to nerves, she posted a 99 (+27) for the day after a "nice recovery" on the back nine.

"I was happy to see that Ayla evened some things out as she went along," Weaver said. "For playing in her first varsity event, she did very well."

Among the veteran Niwot golfers, senior Sydney Rothstein began her farewell season with a third-place finish in Greeley, but three double bogeys on her final five holes doomed her to a tie for 19th at Harmony, with a final score of 87 (+15). Sophomore Mina O'Dell, a second-year varsity player, carded a 99 in the opener, but followed it up with a career best 81 (+9) two days later, to finish in 13th place.

"She was focused, she had fun, and I'm just proud of her," Weaver said. "It will give her a lot of confidence going forward, now that she knows she can play at that level."

The Cougars will be making up for the lost time, with three events in the first week of April, including a home tournament on April 5 at Twin Peaks, and the long-delayed Chili Chilly on April 9.