NHS sends three golfers to state

Niwot High School's girls golf team qualified three golfers for the Class 4A state tournament in Colorado Springs, giving the Cougars a chance to place as a team.

The regional tournament was held at Twin Peaks Golf Course in Longmont, with 67 girls competing for the 21 state qualifying scores.

Junior Alena Kasanicky led the Cougar squad with a fifth-place finish, followed by freshman Wendy Cheruiyot (16) and senior Mina O'Dell (21).

"Mina got into a playoff," Coach Ed Weaver said. With a 3-way tie for the final spot at state, O'Dell found a way to win. "They played [hole number] 18, they tied, and played 18 again," Weaver said. After the first tie, O'Dell told Weaver, "I got this."

And she did. While O'Dell chipped onto the green on the par 4 hole after her drive, her opponent took two shots after her drive to get onto the green. O'Dell putted close to the hole, then tapped it in for the victory.

Addy Murphy, also a freshman, got into a playoff for the first alternate spot by tying for 24th. She might have finished higher had she not carded a seven on her final hole. Though Murphy did not win the first alternate position, she will attend the state meet to offer support to her teammates, and to be available if a position opens up.

O'Dell was taking so many AP tests during the seniors' last week of school that she almost missed her tee time at regionals. When the school could not offer an accommodation, she opted to skip the final AP test and head to the golf course.

Kasanicky was also doing double duty as a track athlete for Niwot. "Alena has only played three events with us because she also runs track," Weaver said. "She's such an athlete it's ridiculous."

Several Cougars earned post-season honors. "Wendy was All-Conference," Weaver said. "Mina was Academic All-State and Alena was Academic All-State."

"I'm really happy we qualified three," Weaver said. "We'll go down tomorrow and play a practice round tomorrow (Sunday)."