A spring snowstorm forced officials to shortened last month’s Class 4A state girls’ golf tournament to just Day 1. Still, Coronado coach Kelly Hodge believed her team would have finished in the top three given another day to play.
The Cougars placed fifth. Its performance was headlined by junior Kate Griffin, who shot an 11-over par to take sixth place and earn the Pikes Peak region’s best individual finish.
Windsor ended up winning the team title.
For her guidance, Hodge earned The Gazette Preps 2019 Girls’ Golf Coach of the Year. She also won the honor last year, when the Cougars won a tiebreaker against Air Academy to place fifth.
This year’s finish helped put Coronado on the map, Hodge said: “I want to keep it that direction, that we’re a strong team.”
Seniors Anika Hagen and Hannah Burgess finished 46th and 61st, respectively, for the Cougars, while sophomore Adeline Frisbie — the team’s fourth state qualifier — took 80th.
Coronado played solid all season, headlined by the play of Griffin, a multisport athlete who also placed third at the Class 3A girls’ tennis tournament for Colorado Springs School.
The junior won Region 1, helping the Cougars get four golfers to the state tournament. Hagen and Burgess also finished in the top 10 at the regional tournament.
No one will truly know how they’d fare if the snowstorm didn’t roll through.
Nonetheless, Hodge and the rest of the Cougars were pleased with their limited performances.
“They motivated each other, they pushed each other and they work really well, not only individually, but also as a team,” Hodge said. “They wanted to go out on top. We did at regionals but we wanted to end high in state.”
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