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Durango girls golfer Reiley Waldo saves best CHSAA state round for last

DHS senior plays final nine holes 3-over par in adverse conditions
Reiley Waldo and Kirk Rawles needed to do whatever they could to stay warm at the CHSAA Class 4A golf championships. Waldo needed to play from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. because of two weather delays.

Reiley Waldo’s competitive high school golf career came to a close in a place that it really began. And she saved her best for last.

Waldo, a senior at Durango High School, shot a 10-over-par 82 on Tuesday at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale during the second and final round of the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A girls golf state championship. The score placed her at 22-over after two rounds, good for 13th place.

It was the third consecutive season she reached the state tournament through qualifying at regionals, and she improved each season from 48th to 27th to 13th this season.

River Valley Ranch was the site of the regional tournament Waldo’s sophomore season. She went to four playoff holes that year to earn her trip to the state championship.

“To end on the same course that really got me started as a competitive golfer, it is really special,” said Waldo, daughter of Allisa Oliger and Kurt Waldo. “I improved every year at state by more than 10 strokes every time, and it’s awesome to see how I improved that way.”

Waldo’s best nine-hole score of her high school career came in her final nine holes Tuesday. She withstood two weather-related delays to shoot a 3-over-par 39 on the back-nine.

“It’s a great way to end my high school career,” she said. “It’s really cool to have the best nine of my career at that moment.”

Waldo struggled with her ball striking during Monday’s round of 84. She felt much better about the way she played Tuesday, and DHS head coach Kirk Rawles said she backed up what Rawles though was the worst round of her season Monday with what he called the second best round of her career Tuesday.

“She hit it much better and sat through two long lightning delays,” Rawles said. “The stop and starts were tough, but she came out of it strong.

“She made good par-saving putts and even had one three-putt and a penalty stroke, otherwise it could’ve been even better.”

Waldo, whose other love is music, said her game had much better rhythm Tuesday.

“It was rhythmic, flowing better. It was less of a grind,” she said. “During the breaks, I just tried to stay warm in the shelters and get next to the heaters. I tried not to check out of my round, which is easy to do in that situation.”

Cheyenne Mountain won the Class 4A team title for a third consecutive season. It is head coach Bill Paulson’s final season before retirement.

Jefferson Academy’s Jennifer Kupcho won the individual tournament for the second consecutive season. She shot rounds of 70 and 69 to finish at 5-under for the tournament.

Kupcho went on a streak of four birdies in five holes Tuesday to get seven shots clear of second place. She’s won the last two state tournaments by a combined 24 strokes. The senior will play Division I at Wake Forest next season.

jlivingston@durangoherald.com



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