Prospect Ridge ready to take next step
Miners took second in Class 3A team championship last season
Prospect Ridge Academy girls golf wasted no time asserting its dominance in Class 3A. In fact, it only took the Miners a couple of seasons.
Last year, in the team’s second year of existence, the Miners vaulted themselves almost to the top of the classification when they earned team runnerup at the state tournament behind freshman phenom Hope Torres. Collectively, they shot 523 over the twoday tournament to follow up state champion St. Mary’s lead.
Three of the four state qualifiers return for what they’re hoping will be another stellar year.
“Honestly, I would not have expected it if you told me we would have placed second in state, just because there were a lot of great other schools that competed in the state at that time,” junior Kate Dinges said. “Going into the second day, I think we were either in third or fourth place after the first day, so we would have to really shoot well to get second and we did it.”
Torres, now a sophomore, was just the boon the Miners needed to earn the coveted hardware. She nabbed fourth place individually, carding a two-day 155 including a first-round 74. She’s looking forward to returning for her second year and watching the team continue to grow.
“I thought it was awesome, just being a freshman and my first time being in high school golf and seeing the differences with high school tournaments,” Torres said. “I just can’t wait for my other three years.”
This season, the Miners will field a small squad of just four players, but that leaves no questions about who will start each tournament. While they said goodbye to Erin Choi, who last year placed 16th at state, they welcome her little sister in freshman Ye
Yoon (Alex).
She’s looking forward to joining in on the action after witnessing the ride her older sister took.
“I really wanted to be in her position — not like replace her — but I also wanted to be a part of the team and contribute to being runner-up,” Alex said. “Of course, I couldn’t, because I was in middle school, so I’m just excited to be on this team this year and just play and hopefully help contribute to getting a good ranking.”
In two short years, PRA has gone from irrelevant — nonexistent, more precisely — to a force to be reckoned with on the greens. Head coach Monica Henrichs credited a sense of community as well as team spirit in a sport that is generally defined by individual talent and game play.
“I think that it’s awesome for the girls to see the support from their families supporting them on the course but also, their excitement to show up for each other and cheer each other on is really cool,” Henrichs said. “When they see each other crossing paths in tournaments, they’re always like (cheering quietly). We’ve got these little hand signals we give to each other.”
All four of the ladies noted that their strength lies in their long game, but saw significant improvement on their chipping and putts throughout the summer and fall. They’re hoping those small changes can help propel them back toward the top in 2023 and maybe, just maybe, earn them that state crown when they head to Aspen for the state tournament later this spring.
“I’ve seen us really grow in just our scores, but also grow as a team,” junior Leyni Stavola said. “We’ve become more connected and, I would say, definitely a lot more like a team. When we first started, it was just three of us. We were all kind of individuals. Now, I feel like we’re all together and we’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s win this.’”