There’s much excitement around the state this time of year as prep sports are winding down and individuals are celebrated for athletic achievement in many endeavors. For Colorado’s girls golfers, the state competitions have as much to do with the courses they are playing (and the weather) as the swings they put in and the putts they line up, so there’s always a chance that someone unexpected comes out of the woodwork and contends for a state championship.

However, there are plenty of girls that are riding a wave of momentum after strong regional play and consistent seasons, no matter what courses they were trekking. It can be expected that many of the girls listed below will finish their seasons with rounds Monday and Tuesday that they’ll remember for a long time, and for a few, they’ll have medals to share along with their stories.

A briefing on each classification fresh off this week’s regionals.

Class 5A at Todd Creek

Regional team qualifiers (automatic): Legend (Northern champ); Legacy; Fossil Ridge (Southern champ); Cherry Creek; Rock Canyon (Central champ); Castle View; Valor Christian (Western champ); Ralston Valley.

Regional top performers: Maddie Makino/Adyson Ice, Legend (Northern co-champs), Chloe Hartojo, Legacy; Ellie Barry, Fossil Ridge (Southern champ); Lilie Cohen, Chaparral; Makayla Profera, Cherry Creek; Richa Sajjan, Fossil Ridge; Shelby McCord, Castle View/Ashley Chang, Rock Canyon (Central co-champs); Taylor Wilson, Rock Canyon; Kelsey Pringle, Rock Canyon; Addison Hines, Ralston Valley (Western champ); Brenna Higgins, Valor Christian; Ella Scott, Valor Christian; Aja Blankenship, Valor Christian.

Outlook: Valor Christian leapt ahead of the field by going under par as a team this week at Indian Tree, and the resurgence of Higgins gives the Eagles a pretty clear path to the team title. Hines had one of the season’s best rounds this past week, and a top-three showing similar to last year would not surprise anyone. Last year’s runner-up, Ashleigh Wilson of Rock Canyon, pursued another golf opportunity and missed regionals, but the Jaguars still dominated their regional and should play a factor. Fossil’s Barry has been on a tear of late, too. Of note, most of the top 14 finishers from last year’s field are back.

Class 4A at Broadlands

Regional team qualifiers: Riverdale Ridge (Region 3 champ); Niwot; Pueblo West (Region 1 champ); Air Academy; Durango (Region 4 champ); Loveland; Ponderosa (Region 2 champ); Broomfield.

Regional top performers: Brynn Balliet, Riverdale Ridge (Region 3 champ); Macy Kleve, Windsor; Sophia Capua, Vista PEAK; Landry Frost, Air Academy (Region 1 champ); Clayre Wagner, Pueblo West; Gabi Benfatti, Pueblo West; Jayden Craig, Durango (Region 4 champ); Jordyn Bandemer, Loveland; Dylan Livingston, Durango; Olivia Dorland, Golden; Olivia Meyering, Ponderosa (Region 2 champ); Kaylee Meyering, Ponderosa; Addison McCarthy, Thomas Jefferson.

Outlook: A few familiar names from last year’s state field are back, including runner-up Kleve and top-10 finisher Olivia Meyering. But with a lot of the teams dropping down to 3A, there is an unmatched unpredictability to the field. Frost could finish off a great freshman year with a championship, while Balliet also is playing at her best right now. Pueblo West and Durango have flown under the radar all season.

Class 3A at Boomerang

Regional team qualifiers: Holy Family (Region 3 champ); Northridge; Severance (Region 4 champ); Steamboat Springs; Mullen (Region 2 champ); Littleton; Lutheran (Region 1 champ); Palmer Ridge.

Regional top performers: Peyton Mraz, Holy Family (Region 3 champ); Emmarie Miles, Northridge; Rosie Hirai, Berthoud; Kaitlyn Grommeck, Steamboat Springs (Region 4 champ); Makena Thayer, Battle Mountain; Ayla Rueschhoff, Mullen (Regional champ); Riley Kinsella, Pomona; Zoe Bar-Or, Littleton; Tess Morris, Lutheran (Region 1 champ); Chace Atkinson, Lutheran; Sofia Contreras, Pueblo Central.

Outlook: Holy Family, led by Mraz, Steffi Heitz and Acadia Curtis, has vaulted to the top of the list of contenders for the 3A title after a strong second half of the season, but there are a couple of Greeley teams who get to play a ‘home’ course which could make a difference. Thayer finished fourth in 4A last year, while Contreras, Bar-Or, Grommeck and Kinsella were all 4A top-13, as well. Morris has played some great tournaments this year and is most definitely ready to tackle Boomerang. Timnath’s Cheyanne Schrick was fourth in 3A last year.

Class 2A at Pueblo Country Club

Regional team qualifiers: Colorado Academy (Region 4 champ); Resurrection Christian; Sterling (Region 3 champ); Brush; Rye (Region 1 champ); Salida; Denver Christian (Region 2 champ); Kent Denver.

Regional top performers: Sophia Lee, Colorado Academy (Region 4 champ); Lenna Persson, Aspen; Karina Garcia, Resurrection Christian; Macie Doherty, Sterling (Region 3 champ); Kyndra Johnson, Salida (Region 1 champ); Amita Crowley, Montezuma-Cortez; Kaelin Martellaro, Salida; Hope Torres, Prospect Ridge (Region 2 champ); Addie Dorsey, Manitou Springs; Aspen Murphy, Denver Christian.

Outlook: This tournament will probably be top-heavy, but some of the state’s best still reside in these smaller schools. All eyes will be on the freshman Lee, who has turned in more than a handful of under-par rounds this year. But defending 3A champ Hope Torres has what it takes to put two rounds together, too. Johnson, Persson, Dorsey, Doherty, Avery Lent (CA) and Jordan Slutzky (CA) were all 3A top-10 finishers last year.

Hunting the Mega Bonus Regional edition

(No Laying Up)

Riverdale Ridge’s Balliet went 1-under 70 at Twin Peaks, making four birdies in a row at one point on her front nine.

CA’s Lee came back around to shoot 1-under 71 at Raindance National, carding two birdies and 15 pars.

Fossil’s Barry also had two birdies and 15 pars at the Pinery on her way to a 1-under 71.

Castle View’s McCord followed two bogeys in her round at City Park with birdies to go even through 17, then birdied 18 to finish 1-under 71. Chang, of Rock Canyon, also birdied the 18th to wrap up a 34 on the back nine and finish at 1-under 71.

Hines had the best regional round in the state, shooting 8-under 66 at Indian Tree in Arvada with just one bogey to her round. The Ralston Valley junior went 32-34, with a stretch of eight holes in the middle of her round that included five birdies and an eagle. Higgins put together a clean card with a bogey-free round, going 37-35 for a 6-under 66 in her final prep regional round.

Olivia Meyering had a great start to her round at Fox Hollow, going out at 32. Though her back nine wasn’t what she was hoping for, an eagle on the 17th kept her ahead of the field and she finished off with a 1-under 71.