CORTEZ – As golf courses across the Western Slope open for spring, the Panthers girls golf team is eager to get back to action.
Montezuma-Cortez High School will be the last spring sport to begin its season when it opens at Delta’s Devil’s Thumb Golf Course on March 31, and second-year head coach Jarrett Watkins hopes the wait pays off.
The Panthers are among the state’s most prolific small-school golf programs, public and private alike. Competing in the 2A classification, where six of the top seven teams at the 2025 state championships were private or charter schools, M-CHS has held its own. While the Panthers did not field a full state-qualifying team last spring, they put two golfers in the top 35 and remain a major force on the Western Slope.
Seniors Amita Crowley and Afton Unrein enter the season as the team’s leaders, and the new faces to the program have plenty to look up to. Both Crowley and Unrein have become known names atop leaderboards and are seeking a fourth appearance in the state tournament in their final Panthers season.
Crowley and Unrein recorded their best state finishes last spring, with Crowley placing 11th and Unrein finishing 33rd in the 2A field. This year, they guide an up-and-coming group ready to sustain the program’s tradition long after they graduate in May.
“Afton and Amita have stepped up and are coaching our younger girls – and the rest of the team pays attention,” Watkins said.
A new format accompanies changes in the Colorado High School Activities Association. Rather than relying on a regional tournament and a high-pressure 18-hole round to determine championship qualifiers, the governing body will determine qualifiers based on full-season performance. The top 84 golfers in the state, based on their average score from all tournaments regardless of region, will advance to Lone Tree Golf Club on May 18-19 for the 2A state championships.
Junior Dannika Goodall joins the mix of top returners after steadily improving her game last season, regularly shooting in the low 100s while serving as the Panthers’ No. 3 golfer. “Dannika’s been out on the range and working hard to keep getting better,” Watkins said.
Freshman Mayci Garver and junior Tinley Philpott, both newcomers to the high school program, add depth along with several players gaining experience along the way.
“We’ll have plenty of classroom time to make sure the girls are caught up on the rules of the game, but it’s also good for them to be out on the course and learn as they go,” Watkins said.
Montezuma-Cortez plays a condensed schedule with stops at familiar courses. A tournament at San Juan Country Club in Farmington opens April, followed by competitions in Montrose on April 13-14 and at Piñon Hills on April 20. The Panthers also will compete in a tournament hosted by Dolores on April 20 before hosting their own 18-hole tournament April 28 at Conquistador Golf Course.
The Panthers close the regular season with tournaments at Tiara Rado and Cattails, with the goal of qualifying multiple golfers for the state championships on the south side of the capital city on May 18-19.
