PUEBLO, Colo. – Three Eagle golfers shot 77 or lower in the second round, but low scores elsewhere in the field dropped Chadron State down to 12th place in the team standings as the Southern Colorado Open concluded on Monday.
The Eagles fell from a tie for 10th to 12th despite improving their team score by 13 strokes from round one, carding a 22-over 310 after a 323 on Sunday. That followed the pattern of the rest of the field, as 13 of 15 competing programs shot better in round two than in round one, with six (including CSC) improving by 10 or more strokes.
Chadron State finished just one stroke behind 11th-place Saint Martin's, who the Eagles entered the round tied with. The Eagles were seven strokes behind 10th-place MSU Denver and eight strokes behind Western New Mexico and Colorado Mesa, who tied for eighth.
In the opposite direction, CSC had plenty of cushion on the teams below them, as the Eagles finished 23 strokes ahead of 13th-place South Dakota Mines and 28 strokes ahead of Garden City CC, the No. 14-ranked junior college program in the nation.
Individually, Macy Kleve had the strongest Monday round for CSC. The freshman finished at 3-over 75 on the day, birdieing back-to-back holes on the par-4 14th and the par-5 15th. Kleve climbed 12 spots on the leaderboard and finished tied for 32nd in an 84-golfer field.
Aubree Heinsma remained Chadron State's top overall finisher, placing tied for 27th after two rounds. Heinsma shot 5-over 77 on Monday, which combined with her 78 from Sunday's round put her at 11-over 155 for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Kleve. Heinsma shot a team-high three birdies on Monday.
Freshman Lauren Knapp also enjoyed a significant leaderboard climb on Monday, moving up 10 spots after also shooting a 5-over 77. Knapp finished at 16-over 160 for the tournament, tied for 45th place.
Sophomore Allison Sanger wrapped up the scoring golfers with a Monday round of 9-over 81, repeating her Sunday score. She finished tied for 53rd at 18-over 162. Klara Kleinig (28-over, T-71st) and individual Payton Wise (33-over, 79th) wrapped up CSC's competitors.
Hosts CSU Pueblo won the team title by five strokes over UT Dallas while Montana State Billings, Texas A&M International and Colorado Christian all tied for third 19 strokes back of the winners.
Chadron State women's golf has one competition remaining prior to the RMAC Women's Golf Championships – the Maverick Challenge in Grand Junction, Colorado on April 11-12.
