Durango aspired to rally into the top five as a team at the Colorado High School Activities Association Girls Golf State Championships.

The Demons finished seventh out of eight teams.

“We were really excited to be there,” said Durango High School head coach Kirk Rawles, who coached both the Demons' boys and girls golf teams to this year's respective state tournaments in the fall and spring.

“If you would've told us at the beginning of the year that we were going to finish seventh at state, we'd take it.”

Brooke Kniffin, Haleigh Lyon, Reiley Waldo and DHS shot a 297 team total Tuesday at Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs on the second day of the state tournament, five strokes off their Day 1 pace. The Demons' 589 total was 69 strokes off team champion Cheyenne Mountain's two-day score (520).

Montrose finished runner-up at 535, and Colorado Academy finished third at 537.

Valor Christian (541) finished fourth, Estes Park (546) fifth, Broomfield (555) sixth and Pueblo East (604) eighth.

Jennifer Kupcho of Jefferson Academy shot 72-74–146 for a 2-over par total and a 14-stroke victory over Andrea Ballou of Valor Christian.

Emilee Strausburg of D'Evelyn was third-best in 4A at 18-over par.

Waldo finished in a four-player tie for 27th at 87-92–179, 35-over par.

Lyon finished 53rd at 101-95–196, 52-over par.

Kniffin finished in a four-player tie for 63rd at 104-110–214, 70-over par.

“Golf is a fickle sport, and when you're off, you're off,” said Rawles, who noted all three Demons shot over their season averages. “And that's a course that can demoralize you enough as is; it can beat you down.

“That course is pretty tough, and there was one girl who stood out.”

Kupcho had the low round both days.

Kiselya Plewe of Dolores, who dominated the Western Slope for much of the spring season, rallied from her opening day 90 to shoot a 79 on Day 2 – one of four golfers under 80 on Tuesday – and finished tied for sixth with Jordan Cherry of Montrose at 25-over par.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com