Playing through 42 degree weather that featured moments of drizzle, snow and a torrential downpour, three Dolores High School girls’ golfers carried their team to a seventh-place finish in the Colorado High School 3A Girls State Golf Championship at Eagle Valley Golf Club on May 20.
Among the top individual performers for the Lady Bears squad was Montezuma-Cortez High School junior Dimery Plewe, who added another solid finish to her already impressive career when she placed eighth out of 84 golfers with a single round score of 84, 12 over par.
Because two inches of snow fell at Eagle Valley Golf Club during the night of May 20, the second round of the two-day tournament was canceled and competitors were forced to settle for their single round score.
“Dimery was very disappointed that (she and her teammates) didn’t get to better their scores on the second day,” Dolores head coach Monica Plewe said. “Even so, she loved being (at the tournament) with her teammates.”
While Dimery Plewe swung her way to a top-10 finish, junior teammate Kiara Lingenfelter, who attends Dove Creek High School, was navigating her way around the course on her way to a single-round score of 93.
Lingenfelter’s score, which was good enough to place her in a tie for 18th overall in the highly competitive tournament, was especially impressive in light of the inclement weather and the pressure that inherently comes with playing state tournament golf.
Rounding out members of the Dolores team who competed at this year’s tournament was M-CHS junior Kalli Partington, who made the most of her first state tournament appearance and finished 69th overall with a score of 124.
Thanks to their golfers’ performances, Dolores placed seventh overall in the Class 3A team standings, which included 15 total teams. The result was impressive given that the Lady Bears had never posted a team score prior to this season and had only three golfers to draw scores from whereas many teams had four.
Based on their performances this season, Dimery Plewe was named first team all-state for Colorado’s 3A Classification and Lingenfelter received second team all-state honors.
With their season now behind them, members of the Dolores team will turn their attention to honing their swings during an offseason regiment that will include informal practice rounds and a few summer tournaments.
Among such tournaments will be the team’s Glow in the Dark fundraising tournament, which will take place at Conquistador Golf Course on Aug. 23.
“The girls will continue to play tournaments over the summer,” Monica Plewe said. “We are so grateful to have such a supportive community that has helped these girls travel and improve.”
With all three of its state qualifiers set to return next season, and other team members intent on returning to the course next season, the future of the Dolores High School girls golf program appears to be bright.
