Girls golf: Peak to Peak makes program history with runner-up finish
ASPEN – There’s a theory that the Masters can be lost when a tee shot goes into the water on the 12th hole of Augusta National Golf Club.
That’s probably been said by those who haven’t played the 14th at Aspen Golf Club. Peak to Peak’s Noelle Thompson found the water on consecutive days and still managed to finish in second place at the Class 3A girls golf state tournament.
Thompson shot a 5-over-par 76 in the second round and finished 11 strokes behind now back-to-back champion Maddy Bante of St. Mary’s Academy.
But her finish in the final high school tournament of her career won’t be measured by the leaderboard, but rather by growth.
“It’s been really amazing to see the golf program grow while I’ve been here,” Thompson said. “My sophomore year, we sent a team to state after getting second at regionals and made history. We had never even sent a girl to state. It’s been really cool.”
The Pumas tied with Aspen for team runner-up honors, each finishing with 532 total strokes. It’s the best finish in the history of both programs.
Sophomore Shriya Sharma finished in a tie for 15th after combining to shoot 186. Junior Ava Sommer (192) finished in a tie for 22nd. Junior Kaylee Craig (199) finished in a tie for 30th.
But those individual finishes weren’t the priority. Before the round, coach Mike Ventimiglia and his team decided that the girls golf state tournament was a team tournament with an individual component. They were team-focused from the very start.
“This is something we can build on,” Ventimiglia said. “They wanted it so bad and to send Noelle off with something. That’s where the disappointment is from the team standpoint. Runner-up is still a great story.”
It’s a story of an upward trajectory. Thompson said in her sophomore year, she was shooting around 120 and it was Ventimiglia’s belief in her that fostered her growth as a player.
Her willingness to learn and to be coached and to improve is something she is mindful of on a daily basis.
“I meditate a lot and I’m very into philosophy,” Thompson said. “It helps me. I’m not as calm on the inside as people think, but apparently I put on a good mask.”
There are plenty of everyday golfers that would mentally evaporate after a second straight day of going in the water on 14, but Thompson kept her cool. Players that like that draw coaches into their profession, Ventimiglia said.
“Noelle has made me a better coach and a better human,” he said.
Prospect Ridge Academy notched a fourth-place finish as a team. Hope Torres led the charge with an 83 in Round 2, shaving two strokes off her score from Tuesday, which was her goal heading into the day. She finished fifth overall.
Kate Dinges also grabbed a top-10 placement as she combined for 183 to take ninth. Leyni Stavola rounded out the effort at 192 to take 22nd.
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