Top five finish for girls golf
By Will Cornelius, The Surveyor
Five years ago, David Hunn approached the newly hired Athletic Director for Berthoud High School (BHS), Michael DeWall. Hunn had a plan, he wanted to turn BHS into a high school golf powerhouse.
Fast forward to 2023 and the varsity girls golf squad is competing in its third consecutive state tournament. Last year the team finished in seventh place at the state tournament in Broomfield. This year the event was held high in the mountains at Aspen Golf Club.
During the first round on Tuesday, the Lady Spartans flirted with first places for most of the morning. Although a tough back nine dropped BHS to fifth in the team rankings at the end of the first day.
Aspen High School was in first place after the first day, but Hunn knew his side could compete for a title. Talking to the Aspen coaches on the morning of the second day of the tournament, Hunn let it be known that the Lady Spartans were aiming for first. “I know we’re 11 back, but we’re coming after you. And both coaches said, ‘We wouldn’t expect anything different from Berthoud.’ So, it’s kind of neat we’re getting a reputation,” Hunn explained about the friendly challenge.
On Wednesday, an overcast sky with bursts of rain and wind provided another challenge for the final round. Sophomore Mason Premer was the first Lady Spartan to tee off at 9 a.m. on the back nine.
Premer stepped up to the plate late in the season after a vacancy on the varsity team forced Hunn to call up the rising star from the JV team. Premer finished the tournament in 47th place individually, shooting a combined 212 over two days. “It feels great, I’m actually really excited to be here and I’m glad that I’m getting this experience,” said Premer after the tournament. Her coach could sense it too in Premer. “I think she has the bug, which is great, she really wants to improve and take this game seriously,” Hunn said.
After a rough first round, senior Ashley Russell turned things around in the second round. Russell started the tournament with a quintuple bogey on her first hole and finished the day carding 99. Putting the previous day out of her mind and starting the day with no expectations, Russell played dramatically better on Wednesday, scoring an 86. “Amazing compared to yesterday, it’s a lot better. 13 strokes less than yesterday which is crazy. So, it was a pretty good day compared to yesterday,” Russell said about the difference between her two rounds.
Overall, the second round was a similar story to the first one for the Lady Spartans according to Russell. “I feel like we all did pretty good. Everyone had either an off day today or yesterday. We did the best we could with the conditions that we had. We’re just mainly doing it for Olivia.” Olivia Gravestock started the golf season on fire before an illness ended her season early.
By the end of the tournament, the Lady Spartans sat in fifth place overall, with Anya Knoll, Brooklyn Tychsen and Russell all making the top 10 individually too. “Placing seventh in state as an individual I think has got to be a record for Berthoud,” said Hunn about Knoll who scored a team-best 175 over the two-day event. Tychsen and Russell both tied for tenth place, carding 185. “This is a new age of Berthoud golf, and really fun to watch these girls compete,” Hunn stated.
While it is bittersweet for seniors Knoll and Russell to be leaving BHS, Hunn said he is “excited to see what the future holds for Berthoud girls golf.” With a deep team and two returning state-qualifying golfers in Tychsen and Premer, Berthoud golf is here to stay. “I think we’ll have some good years coming up,” Premer said with a smile.
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