PARKER — Valor Christian sophomore Brenna Higgins said she was shaking through the final five holes of the Class 5A state tournament Wednesday as she traded the lead back and forth with Smoky Hill freshman Sophia Stiwich.
She admitted after her playoff win that she knew it could have gone either way. Just glad it didn’t.
Higgins and Stiwich both finished the two-day tournament 1-under-par 143 but it was Higgins that survived a tiebreaking 19th hole of the day as Stiwich conceded after two wayward drives.
As Higgins stood in the middle of the par-4 No. 18 fairway awaiting her second shot in the playoff, she was told the news. Her teammates, who’d known they’d won a second straight team title for a while now, then rushed towards her and doused her in water.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “I’ve spent so much time preparing for this and just to see it all come together is amazing.”
Higgins carded a 77 on the second day after shooting 6-under 66 Tuesday.
Senior sister Elle Higgins shot 75 after 74 for a two-day score of 149, finishing tied for fifth. Isabella Hidalgo (173) and Halahn Lee (174) finished 28th and 29th in the field, all helping the Eagles trump runner-up Castle View by 21 strokes.
“They exemplified what it means to play together as a team,” Valor Christian coach Justen Byler said. “Certainly, we’ve had some individual success but the team components of what I watched and what we watched as a staff is what makes us the most proud.”
He also watched a doozy of a battle late into Wednesday.
Higgins lost the lead on a double bogey on par-3 No. 16, then tied it back up with a par putt on 17.
Stiwich missed a winning putt by maybe an inch on 18 before bowing out in the playoff after she hit her first drive out of bounds and her second attempt into the deep weeds.
“For the average golfer, we stand over the 5-footers or the 3-footers and we’re nervous when it doesn’t mean anything,” Byler said. “For them to go through an entire round today knowing that those putts meant a lot, I just have the utmost respect for them.”
Valor Christian and Erie in 4A each won its second titles in program history Wednesday, making it an even dozen Colorado schools with multiple team titles in the sport.
As for the future? Eight of the players inside the top-10 in 5A were underclassmen.
Rock Canyon sophomore Ashleigh Wilson charged up the leaderboard with a second-day best score of 70, finishing third (145). Fellow-sophomore Caitlyn Chin of Cherry Creek finished fourth (148) after shooting a 68 Tuesday.
(Brent W. New)
