For the second year in a row, the Manitou Springs girls golf team sent two players to the Class 3A state tournament.
Tyler Parratt and Madison Sharon battled through regionals at Hollydot Golf Course to earn spots at the year’s final tournament, which took place at the Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield starting Tuesday, May 31.
The course, combined with the weather conditions, made the atmosphere more difficult than anything either Mustang had seen all year. Parratt had the better round, shooting a 36-over-par 108. Sharon shot 117 and both players sat outside the top 50 after the first round.
The tournament concluded on June 1, but results were not available at press time.
The big benefit of having two golfers advance to state is that both will return to Manitou next year with a chance to get back to a state tournament and, hopefully, to improve their play.
“They had a hard time putting the ball in play on their first few holes,” coach Ken Vecchio said. “When you start getting behind like that, you start pressing and putting more pressure on yourself and it’s harder to come back.”
This is the second state tournament appearance for Parratt and the first for Sharon. Should they return to state next year and get an additional teammate to go with them, the Mustangs could compete as full team for the first time in program history.