Final scores from the girls state high school tournaments: 5A, 4A

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Gillian Vance points out that she and Jennifer Kupcho call themselves “Team Kupance”.

And why not — at least this month, which has been a memorable May for the two graduating Colorado high school seniors? A week ago in Oregon, they teamed up and advanced to match play at the inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. And in the first round of matches, they came ever so close to knocking off the No. 3 seed, leading 2 up through 14 before falling in 20 holes.

Then they both returned to their home state and promptly each won a state high school title on Tuesday — Vance in Class 5A and Kupcho (above) for the second straight year by a double-digit margin in 4A.

“That was definitely our goal,” Vance (below) said Tuesday when the second round of the 5A tournament was canceled for weather-related reasons, giving her the victory after a first-round 68. “We call ourselves Team Kupance. We thought Team Kupance could go to Oregon and play our best, then go back and win state. We’ve made it so far together. We definitely wanted to go out with a bang together.”

And so it was for the friends who first met about eight years ago at an CJGA 10-and-under tournament at Cordillera west of Vail.

At the 4A state tournament at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale, Jefferson Academy’s Kupcho became the first back-to-back girls high school state champion in Colorado since Salida’s Emily Wood won in 4A in 2009 and ’10. Overall, Kupcho is just the seventh golfer to claim two or more Colorado girls state high school titles. She joins Ashley Tait of Mullen (3), Lynn Ann Moretto of Cherry Creek (3), Becca Huffer of Littleton (2), Jennifer McCormick of Columbine (2), Kelly Jacques of Skyline (2) and Wood (2). The Wake Forest-bound Kupcho finished third, second, first and first in her four state high school meets.

A year after winning the 4A state title by 14 strokes, Kupcho posted a 10-stroke victory on Tuesday. In a day that started off sunny but turned cold, rainy and thundery — play was interrupted twice at River Valley Ranch on Tuesday — she shot a 3-under-par 69 despite closing with a double bogey. That gave her a 5-under 139 total.

“It feels pretty great to finish out that way,” said Kupcho, the 2014 CWGA Player of the Year. “It was a lot of fun playing with Kylee (Sullivan of Cheyenne Mountain) and Erin (Sargent of Silver Creek). We had two rain delays, which was kind of a downer. It was crazy, but we had a lot of fun out there.”

Kupcho had one significant blip early on Tuesday, making a double bogey after losing a ball in the weeds following her tee shot on No. 4. So how did she respond? She merely birdied five of the next seven holes — including making a 25-foot putt on No. 9 — all sandwiched around the first lightning delay. If there had been any suspense left regarding who would win the individual title, that certainly ended it.

“I had two doubles yesterday and I bounced back really well from those,” she said. “That carried over to today because I wanted to do the best I could and bounce back as well as I could.”

Kupcho finished with 14 birdies in 36 holes — seven each day. Strangely, though, she had far more double bogeys (4) than bogeys (1).

Sullivan placed second at 149 — marking her third straight top-six showing at state and leading Cheyenne Mountain to its third consecutive 4A team championship. At 499, the Indians ended up five strokes ahead of runner-up Colorado Academy.

Sargent finished third individually at 151.

Vance, who wrapped up her career at Dakota Ridge and will play at the University of Colorado beginning in the fall, prevailed in the 5A meet at the Olde Course at Loveland thanks to her 4-under-par 68 on Monday. That’s the best score posted at either the 5A or 4A girls state high school tournament since 2012.

Vance won by two over Regis Jesuit senior Sydney Gillespie, who shot a 70 Monday while playing in the same group as Vance. While Gillespie didn’t get a chance to catch the leader on Tuesday, the Colorado Christian University recruit did finish in the top 10 individually all four years at state and she can take some joy in Regis (left) winning its second consecutive 5A team title and fourth state crown in the last six seasons. The Raiders prevailed by 13 over Rock Canyon.

Morgan Sahm of Grandview, Alexis Chan of Rock Canyon and Ashlyn Kirschner of Ralston Valley shared third place individually at 73.

Vance, who like Kupcho competed in the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, won when Tuesday’s final round was washed out due to heavy overnight rain and considerable standing water at the Olde Course at Loveland. The results from Monday’s opening round became final, making the event an 18-hole tournament.

“I told myself we were going to play,” said Vance (below). “We were about to head out of our hotel room and the coach (Levi Bartholomew) called me and said, ‘Hi state champion.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was really shocked.”

Tournament officials reported too much puddling at the Olde Course on Tuesday morning to hold the final round. Normal tournament policy for the state high school meets — both girls and boys — is to make round 1 results final if round 2 is canceled. Competitors and coaches were notified of that possibility on Monday.

In a similar scenario, the 1985 boys state high school tournament, won by Pomona’s Jakob Green at Fort Collins Country Club, was reduced to 18 holes because of snow.

Vance knew on Monday that there was a chance, given the forecast, that the first round might be the only round. After starting out the tournament with a bogey after a poor opening tee shot, she came on strong by going bogey-free the rest of the day in cold conditions, making five birdies.

“It’s completely fine that it’s an 18-hole tournament,” she said. “Everybody would have love to have played but if the weather doesn’t permit it, that’s just how it is. Either way, I’m just extremely grateful.

“This means the world to me. It really puts a smile on my face to go out with a bang, which is exactly what I wanted to do. I had a blast.”

Next spring, for the first time since 2001, Colorado girls high school golf will add a classification, going from two to three. A 3A state tournament will be added to the existing ones for 5A and 4A.

Girls golf in the state had just one classification from 1990 through 2000, after which separate 5A and 4A meets were held.

Over the first quarter-century of sanctioned girls high school golf in Colorado, six players have won two or more state titles: Ashley Tait of Mullen (3), Lynn Ann Moretto of Cherry Creek (3), Becca Huffer of Littleton (2), Jennifer McCormick of Columbine (2), Kelly Jacques of Skyline (2) and Emily Wood of Salida (2).

Which brings us to this year. Senior Jennifer Kupcho (above) of Jefferson Academy is a big favorite to become multi-champion No. 7. Seeing that she won last year’s 4A state tournament by 14 strokes — one of the largest margins in state history — someone would have to pull off a major upset to beat her when next week’s 4A meet takes place at River Valley Ranch Golf Club in Carbondale.

Kupcho has been a significant force in Colorado women’s/girls golf for several years, but particularly in the last year. The Wake Forest signee became the youngest CWGA Player of the Year of the new millennium (17) in 2014. Last year, she won three CWGA championships, a couple of major CJGA titles and the state high school crown. She also qualified for two USGA national championships and finished second in the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open.

And just this week, she teamed up with Gillian Vance of Dakota Ridge — who will compete in the 5A state meet at the Olde Course in Loveland — to advance to the round of 32 at the inaugural U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Oregon.

As for Kupcho’s high school career, it wouldn’t have taken much for her to be going for her fourth state title when she tees it up in Carbondale. She finished third in the state meet in 2012 as a freshman, ending up a stroke out of a playoff. And in 2013, she placed second, two behind champion Kala Keltz of Montrose.

As it is, a win next week would give Kupcho one of the best high school careers in state history, with two victories, a second and a third.

Meanwhile, Kylee Sullivan has enjoyed a different kind of success at the 4A state meet. She’s led Cheyenne Mountain to state team championships each of the last two years while finishing fifth individually in 2014 and sixth in 2013.

Other players that are likely to be on the leaderboard in Carbondale are Emilee Strausburg of D’Evelyn (third in 2014), Courtney Ewing of Pueblo West (fourth last year), Erin Sargent of Silver Creek (sixth in 5A last year and a 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier along with Kupcho, Vance and Jaclyn Murray), and 4A Western Regional champion Kiselya Plewe of Dolores (sixth in 2014).
 

5A State Tournament at Olde Course: The 5A state meet at the Olde Course in Loveland figures to be a very competitive affair as a half-dozen top-10 finishers from 2014 are back.

Vance, who has signed with the University of Colorado, has posted top-15 finishes each of the last two years and went to the U.S. Girls’ Junior in 2014. Morgan Sahm of Grandview, the 5A Central Regional champion, has been in the top 10 each of the past two seasons and she qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur Publinks as a 14-year-old. Sydney Gillespie of Regis Jesuit, another 2015 regional champ, is going for four straight top-10s at state (including in 4A as a freshman). Brigham Young University signee Anna Kennedy of Legend, the Southern Regional winner, placed third at state last year, making her the highest returnee. And Murray from Regis, a 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior qualifier, might also make some noise.

Defending team champion Regis will go for its fourth state team title in six years as it won in Class 4A in 2010 and ’12.

Monday Tee Times for State Tournaments: 5A, 4A.

Regional Champions: Here are the team and individual champions from the recent 5A and 4A regional state-qualifying tournaments:

5A Southern Regional (held at Heritage Eagle Bend) — Team: Cherry Creek; Individual: Anna Kennedy, Legend.

5A Western (Fox Hollow) — Team: Legacy; Individual: Andrea Hoos, Legacy.

5A Northern (Heather Ridge) — Team: Regis Jesuit; Individual: Sydney Gillespie, Regis.

5A Central (CommonGround) — Team: Grandview; Individual: Morgan Sahm, Grandview.

4A Colorado Springs (CC of Colorado) — Team: Cheyenne Mountain; Individual: Kylee Sullivan, Cheyenne Mountain.

4A Metro-West (Raccoon Creek) — Team: Colorado Academy; Individual: Jennifer Kupcho, Jefferson Academy.

4A Northern (Boomerang) — Team: Northridge; Individual: Adara Pauluhn, Niwot.

4A Southern (Hollydot) — Team: Pueblo West; Individual: Brooke Lucero, Rye.

4A Western (Cobble Creek) — Team: Montrose; Individual: Kiselya Plewe, Dolores.
 

But no matter how new the programs are to the local high school golf scene, that hasn’t kept them from producing some of the best talent to come from Colorado in recent years.

That’s been proven this past week during the early national letter of intent signing period for golf and other sports. Both Valor and Jefferson Academy had multiple players sign with college programs. Valor’s Ross Macdonald and Pierce Aichinger are going to the University of Colorado, while teammate Jake Staiano is headed to Colorado State. Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho (pictured) signed on Monday with Wake Forest, while teammate Mariah Ehrman formally committed to Colorado Mesa University.

Well over a dozen Colorado junior players have inked NLIs since last Wednesday, including at least 12 with NCAA Division I programs. Valor was particularly a center of activity with all three seniors from this year’s 4A state championship team going to Division I programs in-state.

“There were attractive options for all three out of state,” said Jason Preeo, Valor’s boys golf coach and the individual instructor for Macdonald, Staiano and Aichinger. “But their first choice was in-state. They all got pretty much what they were looking for. It’s really important for in-state schools to make sure the top talent stays in the state. You have to own your home turf.”

Indeed, the University of Colorado men’s team, which had just six players on its roster in the fall season, landed three in-state players, all of whom finished in the top eight in the ultra-competitive 4A state tournament — Macdonald (third), Aichinger (sixth) and Cheyenne Mountain’s Wilson Belk (eighth). Macdonald, the CGA Junior Player of the Year, has won the last two CGA Junior Stroke Plays and Aichinger claimed the Colorado Junior PGA Championship this year.

As for CSU-bound Staiano, he won the 2013 CGA Junior Match Play, advanced to match play at the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur, and was the runner-up in the 4A state tournament.

It’s little wonder why Valor, which once featured Oklahoma State-bound Wyndham Clark, has won four of the last six 4A state team titles and has now produced seven NCAA Division I signees.

All four Colorado players who signed with either the CU or CSU men are currently ranked among the top 500 boys national/international players on Junior Golf Scoreboard.

On the girls side, Kupcho is ranked No. 104 nationally/internationally among girls by Junior Golf Scoreboard. Although the reigning 4A state high school champ also considered the University of Denver and Colorado State, she’s headed for Wake Forest, which is currently the No. 10-ranked women’s college program in the nation.

“It’s really exciting to have it done,” said Kupcho, the CWGA Player of the Year and three-time Junior Player of the Year at age 17. “I’ve been looking forward to this day. Finally to just get it over with and know I’m going to college is kind of exciting. To go play Division I golf is a real exciting accomplishment.”

Wake Forest has been to 13 NCAA Championship finals in the last 22 years. Laura Diaz, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour and a former Wake Forest standout, is a volunteer assistant coach for the Demon Deacons.

Kupcho cited the coaches and the climate (Wake Forest is in Winston-Salem, N.C.) as the primary reasons she chose to be a Demon Deacon.

“Obviously, I’ve always wanted to play for a higher (ranked) school so I can hopefully go play professional” eventually, said Kupcho, who finished runner-up in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, a tournament that featured numerous top-level Symetra Tour players. “I would say that’s part of the steppingstone to playing professionally.”

Kupcho’s brother, Steven, plays for the University of Northern Colorado, though he’s redshirting this season. Jennifer Kupcho’s parents coach the Jefferson Academy girls golf team.

Here are the in-state players who have signed national letters of intent this month, and out-of-state players who have signed with Colorado-based NCAA Division I schools (note: this list was updated in May 2015):

BOYS
Pierce Aichinger, Valor Christian — Colorado
Wilson Belk, Cheyenne Mountain — Colorado
Li Chen, Legacy — Northern Colorado
Bretton Krantz, Windsor — Colorado Mesa
Ross Macdonald, Valor Christian — Colorado
Hayden Plewe, Montezuma-Cortez — Southern Utah
Grant Rogers, Boulder — Rice
Jake Staiano, Valor Christian — Colorado State
Taylor Rodriguez, 4A individual champ at Pueblo South — CSU-Pueblo
Jackson Vacek, Fairview — Occidental

GIRLS
Mariah Ehrman, Jefferson Academy — Colorado Mesa
Courtney Ewing, Pueblo West — CSU-Pueblo
Tori Goodman, Falcon — CSU-Pueblo
Anna Kennedy, Legend — BYU
Ashlyn Kirschner, Ralston Valley — Colorado Mesa
Jennifer Kupcho, Jefferson Academy — Wake Forest
Adara Pauluhn, Niwot — Boise State
Kylee Sullivan, Cheyenne Mountain — Oakland U.
Gillian Vance, Dakota Ridge — Colorado

Out-of-State Players Committed to Colorado Div. I Schools
Boys
Ben Bradley of Frankfurt, Germany — Colorado (eligible to compete in spring semester 2015)
Kade Crossland, transfer from Corban University in Solem, Ore. — Colorado
Tate Tatom of Gallatin Gateway, Mont. — Air Force Academy
Girls
Hanna Atkins of Phoenix — Northern Colorado
Lauryn Keating of Elma, Wash. — Colorado
Sophie Newlove of Nottingham, England — Denver
Katrina Prendergast of Sparks, Nev. — Colorado State
Janet Yeo of Los Angeles — Northern Colorado