PUEBLO, Colo. – Freshman Allison Sanger had the best finish of her career, carding multiple sub-80 rounds to place 16^th in a 64-golfer round to lead the Chadron State women's golf team to an eighth-place finish at the Samuel Proal Fall Invite hosted by CSU Pueblo. 

The Eagles finished with a two-round team score of 73-over-par 649, their second-best 36-hole score out of their four fall competitions. CSC was five strokes back of seventh-place Fort Lewis. The Eagles finished ahead of North Idaho, Adams State and Otero. 

Sanger, out of Windsor, Colorado, shot a 7-over-par 79 in round one on Monday followed by a 5-over-par 77 in round two to finish at 12-over-par 156 for the tournament. In three previous collegiate events, Sanger had never broke 80 in a round or finished higher than 41^st in a single event. Sanger finished in a three-way tie for 16^th and was just four strokes outside the top 10.

Sanger stood out during an opening round that was challenging across the board, as six teams, including the Eagles, improved their scores from round one to round two. Sanger was the only Eagles golfer to break 80 on Monday (three did on Tuesday), recording two birdies, seven bogeys and only one double bogey in her round. 

Fellow freshman Klara Kleinig finished in 27^th place, carding a 10-over-par 82 on Monday followed by a 7-over 79 on Tuesday in round two. Kleining had two birdies in each round. Junior Payton Wise finished in 46^thplace with a round one score of 11-over 83 and a round two score of 17-over 89. Brooklyn Tychsen also had a tougher round two, following up an 84 Monday with a 99 on Tuesday to finish in 58^th place. 

On the other hand, junior Aubree Heinsma was one of Tuesday's biggest risers up the leaderboard. Heinsma shot a 98 in round one, but recovered with a 4-over-par 76 on Tuesday, CSC's best individual round of the tournament. Heinsma jumped 12 spots in the standings between the end of Monday's round and the end of the tournament, finishing in 50^th place. Maggie Teague, competing as an individual, carded scores of 86 and 90 and finished 52^nd. 

Hosts CSU Pueblo won the tournament with a two-day score of 22-over-par 598. The ThunderWolves were eight strokes ahead of second-place Lubbock Christian. Among other RMAC teams competing, Colorado Mesa finished fourth, MSU Denver finished fifth and Fort Lewis finished seventh with CSC eighth and Adams State 10^th.

This result concludes the fall season for Chadron State golf. The Eagles will compete several times in the spring, starting with the SMSU Spring Invitational in Goodyear, Arizona in March. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship is set for April 20-22.