Welch leads Trailblazers to first title

Zack Hall

Friday, Oct. 20, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

GENOA -- There is Durango High's girls golf team and then there is everybody else.

Whitney Welch's 5-under- par 139 won the individual portion of the 2000 NIAA/U.S. Bank 4A State Girls Golf Championship Thursday afternoon. Her low score led the Trailblazers to the school's first girls golf state championship, beating Bishop Gorman by 22 strokes with a team total of 783 at Genoa Lakes Country Club.

Durango's win broke the four-year run by Green Valley and marked the first time since 1992 neither the Gators nor Cimarron-Memorial won the state title.

"It's every thing this team has dreamed about," Welch said. "I'm so happy. Even if I didn't win (the individual crown), I'd still feel that I helped the team win with a good score."

Durango jumped to a 7-stroke lead over the Gaels with a first-round score of 397 Wednesday. Despite an improved performance by Gorman -- which shaved three strokes off its first-day score of 404 -- on Thursday, the Trailblazers extended their lead by shooting a 386 to take the win.

In addition to Welch, two other Blazers finished in the top 10. Sondia Gogue wound up in a tie for fifth with a 3-over-par 147, while Sunset Region champion Erin Andrews placed seventh with a 149. None of Durango's six golfers finished lower than 35th in the 60-player field. Sabrina Faber was 20th with a 171, Katie McCandless wound up 28th firing a 180 and Terry Bartmus placed 35th with a 185.

"The girls deserve this," Durango coach Kathy Faber said. "I've seen how hard they've worked."

Gorman's Danielle Reilly finished second overall, two strokes behind Welch with a 141. Wooster's Aislyn Nelson (145), Galena's Chandeni Gill (145), Silverado's Monika Lee (147), Bonanza's Kim Braaten (159), Palo Verde's Teri Henderson (160) and Galena's Kristina Ely (160) rounded out the top 10.

In the team competition, Gorman was followed by Galena (854), Palo Verde (889), Reno (898), Green Valley (906), Carson (961) and Silverado (989). Foothill did not post a score after two players did not finish Wednesday's round.

Also on Thursday, Boulder City's Tahnee Harrison placed second overall at the 3A State Tournament at the Casa Blanca Resort in Mesquite. Harrison finished with a two-day total of 173 (88-85), one shot behind winner Renee Trudeau of Tahoe-Truckee.

The Eagles were fifth with a score of 1,067. Lowry won the team title with a 976.