Cheyenne Mountain's Ava Schroeder ties for third; DCC girls place third as team
May 31—THORNTON — As Ava Schroeder walked off the 18th green Wednesday, tears flowed down her eyes, smearing the eye black across her cheek bones.
The Cheyenne Mountain senior entered Day 2 of the Class 4A girls golf state championship tied for the lead. She finished tied for third after shooting 9-over-par 81 on Wednesday.
She averaged under-par per round during the regular season, so needless to say, it wasn't the finish to her high-school career that she dreamed of.
"I think I was just very emotional," Schroeder said. "You're going to just have bad days and you're going to have good days. You just have to be able to bounce back."
Both Schroeder and her coach, John Carricato, admitted she struggled with her putting Wednesday. That cost her on several holes, including the final stretch, where she went 4-over on the last four holes.
But she still finished as the Pikes Peak region's top individual with a total score of 152 (71-81).
Schroeder finished 1-under par Tuesday, recording one eagle, three birdies and four bogeys.
That round was more indicative of her stellar season.
"We battled today and yesterday and made the most of it, and she'll learn from it," coach Carricato said.
Though Schroeder's days at Cheyenne Mountain are over, she's not done with golf. She has signed to play NCAA Division I golf at South Dakota, which competes in the Summit League.
As she moves to the next level, Wednesday's humbling round will serve as motivation.
"I think it just shows that I need to work even harder," Schroeder said. "It's going to be even more difficult in college."
DCC girls earn bronze
A collection of respectable showings earned Discovery Canyon third place in the team standings with 491 strokes. The Thunder finished just one stroke behind second-place Durango.
DCC's three seniors — Emily Cheng (159), Lauren Jaworowski (162) and Anna Mettler (170) — posted its three best scores. Behind them was sophomore Makenna Shank at 215.
Cheng said she believed her team could have competed for the gold medal.
"Third was definitely not what we wanted, but there are some bad moments some times and good moments sometimes," Cheng said.
Although it wasn't the performance DCC's girls hoped for, coach Mark Liggett is proud of his team's performance and the legacy the three seniors leave behind.
"They've set a huge foundation," Liggett said. "We'll lose three of them, so they've set the quota for girls golf: It's a pretty big standard."
Other top finishers
Erie's Logan Hale cruised to an individual title, shooting 137 (71-66) — eight strokes ahead of teammate Hadley Ashton, who finished second.
The Tigers also dominated the team leaderboard, beating Durango by 49 strokes.
Cheyenne Mountain and Discovery Canyon were the Pikes Peak region's only schools competing for a team title, but several other area golfers competed individually.
Air Academy's Kya Shatzer improved her Day 1 score by four strokes Wednesday to shoot 170 (87-83) and finished tied for 24th. Abrianna Lippis of Cañon City also broke the top 30, shooting 171 (84-87).
5A results
Annette Parker of Pine Creek finished 30th in the 5A tourney, shooting 175 (88-87). Doherty's Lauren Kachel finished just a stroke behind Parker in 32nd place.
Valor Christian's Brenna Higgins beat Smoky Hill's Sophia Stiwich for the individual title. Both golfers shot 143 between their two rounds.
Valor Christian also won the team state championship at 237 — three strokes in front of second-place Castle View.
3A results
Manitou Springs senior Tyler Parratt had the Colorado Springs area's best score in the 3A tournament at 206, tying for 35th. Mustang teammate Anna Apotheker finished tied for 52nd (221).
St. Mary's Academy junior Maddy Bante ran away with the individual state title, winning by 11 strokes. She shot 69 on Wednesday after an opening-round 74.
St. Mary's Academy also won the team title, beating Peak to Peak by seven strokes.
