Halfway There

2 defending individual champs lead after challenging first day at girls state high school tournaments

By Gary Baines 

It’s been an ongoing theme in high school golf in Colorado ever since girls golf officially became sanctioned in 1990: the girls get the raw end of the deal, weather-wise, compared to their male counterparts.

It’s not hard to see why. The boys’ season runs from early August through early October — often an ideal time of the year, weather-wise, in Colorado. The girls’ season, meanwhile, takes place in the spring, culminating in late May. The weather can be beautiful at times, but cold, rain and occasional snow makes it far from perfect.

This week’s girls state high school tournaments are a prime-time example as three of the four championships featured first days with temperatures in the low 40s, with rain. The fourth tournament, in Montrose, was a little warmer, but with a lot of wind and some rain. And the forecast for the final rounds on Tuesday looks only marginally better.

But, whatever the weather, the cream seems to rise at the state tournaments. And, given that two freshmen and two sophomores claimed individual titles at state last year, it’s not surprising that familiar faces are very much in contention once again.

Specifically, here’s where the defending individual state champs stand going into the final round this year: Valor Christian junior Ella Scott (first place in Class 5A), Air Academy sophomore Landry Frost (first in Class 4A), Timnath junior Cheyanne Schrick (second in Class 3A) and Colorado Academy sophomore Sophia Lee (fourth in 2A).

— Class 5A at Thorncreek Golf Course in Thornton: 2025 champion Ella Scott, part of the Team Colorado elite junior squad that’s part of the USGA’s national development program, set herself up well for a possible repeat as she opened with a 1-over-par 73, which gives her a two-stroke lead.

Ranked No. 211 nationally/internationally among female junior golfers by Rolex/AJGA, chalked up three birdies and four bogeys on Monday.

Legend freshman Scout Fitzgerald, daughter of two-time Colorado PGA overall player of the year Caine Fitzgerald, and Cherry Creek senior Tatum Platt share second place at 75.

Valor Christian, winner of the last four 5A state team titles, leads after day 1 with a 14-over-par total. The Eagles are 11 ahead of Legend and 15 in front of Cherry Creek.

— Class 4A at The Bridges Golf & Country Club in Montrose: Air Academy’s Landry Frost, who won the 4A state individual title as a freshman last year, leads after round 1 in her attempt to go 2-for-2.

Frost, a Team Colorado member, eagled the opening hole on Monday at The Bridges and added a birdie en route to going 2 under on the front nine. But she went 5 over on the back, playing the two par-5s in a combined 3 over.

Still, she stands one ahead of Ponderosa sophomore Kaylee Meyering, the runner-up by one stroke last year. Meyering went the opposite direction as Frost on Monday, making a triple-bogey 8 on the first hole and shooting a 40 on the front nine before bouncing back with an even-par total on the back en route to a 75.

The only other player to crack 80 — or 85 — on day 1 was Riverdale Ridge senior Brynn Balliet, who shot 79.

In a relatively tight team race, Ponderosa (48 over par) leads Air Academy by seven, Riverdale Ridge by eight and Durango by nine.

— Class 3A at Foothills Golf Course in South Denver: Freshman Peyton Landon of Timnath overcame a snowman — a triple-bogey 8 on the sixth hole — to shoot a 3-over-par 75 and grab the day 1 lead at Foothills.

Landon carded four birdies, four birdies and the triple on Monday.

In fact, the top three individuals after the first day are Timnath teammates as junior Cheyanne Schrick, the defending champ, sits in second (77) and freshman Isla Carlucci in third (78).

Littleton senior Zoe Bar-Or, the 3A runner-up last year, was the only other player to break 80 as her 79 leaves her in fourth place.

Not surprisingly, Timnath leads the 3A team competition as its 14-over-par total is 16 better than defending champ Holy Family and 19 ahead of Lutheran.

— Class 2A at Lone Tree Golf Club: Sophomore Quinn Roman from St. Mary’s Academy opened with a 4-over-par 76 and grabbed a one-stroke lead at the halfway point at Lone Tree.

Roman, who finished seventh at state as a freshman in 2025, recorded two birdies and six bogeys on Monday.

Junior Addison Dorsey of Manitou Springs, a Team Colorado member, sits a shot back, while Eads freshman Reese Barnett posted a 78 to sit in third place.

Defending champion Sophia Lee, statistically the top-ranked player in Colorado girls high school golf this season, opened with an 80 and sits in fourth place. The Team Colorado member started 2-8 (birdie-triple bogey) and finished the day with two birdies, three bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey.

Denver Christian (42 over par), which finished third last season, leads the team standings, followed Resurrection Christian (49 over) and St. Mary’s Academy (55 over).

Here are the team and individual leaders after day 1 of each of the state tournaments:

CLASS 5A AT PAR-72 THORNCREEK GC IN THORNTON

Individual Leaders

Ella Scott, Valor Christian 73

Tatum Platt, Cherry Creek 75

Scout Fitzgerald, Legend 75

Emma Nguyễn, Valor Christian 76

Addison Hines, Ralston Valley 77

Aiven Amella, Castle View 79

Henly Wilson, Pine Creek 79

Ashley Chang, Rock Canyon 80

Natalie Fergason, Regis Jesuit 80

Chloe Johnson, Valor Christian 81

Team Leaders

Valor Christian 230

Legend 241

Cherry Creek 245

Regis Jesuit 251

Rock Canyon 253

CLASS 4A AT PAR-71 THE BRIDGES GOLF & CC IN MONTROSE

Individual Leaders

Landry Frost, Air Academy 74

Kaylee Meyering, Ponderosa 75

Brynn Balliet, Riverdale Ridge 79

Dylan Livingston, Durango 86

Jayden Craig, Durango 86

Olivia Meyering, Ponderosa 87

Gabi Benfatti, Pueblo West 87

Brooklyn Kinder, Falcon 90

Leah Johnson, Riverdale Ridge 90

Nora Hogan, Dakota Ridge 91

Malone Schaefer, Monarch 91

Addison McCarthy, Thomas Jefferson 91

Team Leaders

Ponderosa 261

Air Academy 268

Riverdale Ridge 269

Durango 270

Pueblo West 274

CLASS 3A AT PAR-72 FOOTHILLS GC IN SOUTH DENVER

Individual Leaders

Peyton Landon, Timnath 75

Cheyanne Schrick, Timnath 77

Isla Carlucci, Timnath 78

Zoe Bar-Or, Littleton 79

Katharina Cosby, Steamboat Springs 80

Tess Morris, Lutheran 80

Danikka Nielsen, Holy Family 81

Acadia Curtis, Holy Family 81

Ayla Rueschhoff, Mullen 81

Chace Atkinson, Lutheran 82

Team Leaders

Timnath 230

Holy Family 246

Lutheran 249

Berthoud 265

Steamboat Springs 273

CLASS 2A AT PAR-72 LONE TREE GC

Individual Leaders

Quinn Roman, St. Mary’s Academy 76

Addison Dorsey, Manitou Springs 77

Reese Barnett, Eads 78

Sophia Lee, Colorado Academy 80

Gloriana Ruiz, Rye 81

Kaia Chand, Kent Denver 82

Sarah Farmer, Denver Christian 82

Aspen Murphy, Denver Christian 83

Karina Garcia, Resurrection Christian 85

Addison Moreno, Resurrection Christian 85

Amita Crowley, Montezuma Cortez 85

Team Leaders

Denver Christian 258

Resurrection Christian 265

St. Mary’s Academy 271

Rye 286

Kent Denver 288

About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com