After capping off a successful regular season during which its players vastly improved, the Dolores High School girls’ golf team traveled to the Class 3A Region 4 tournament in Rifle on May 8 and turned in a solid performance.

Leading the way for the Lady Bears was Kiara Lingenfelter, whose score of 99 was good enough to place her in a tie for 12th place overall. Thanks to her impressive finish, Lingenfelter will play in the Class 3A State Tournament for the second consecutive year.

“I was just hoping to play bogie golf,” said Lingenfelter. “My coaches said that even if we played bogie golf on half of the holes and double bogie golf on the rest, we’d shoot in the low 90s. I was just thinking that if I had a bad hole, I wouldn’t freak out or anything.”

Also qualifying for state for Dolores was Dimery Plewe, who ground through an uncharacteristically difficult round and finished with a score of 101, which was good enough to place her 15th overall.

Somewhat disappointed with her score at regionals, yet clearly pleased to play in the state tournament for the first time, Plewe said that she is hoping to play well and place well at the state tournament.

“(Qualifying for state) was a relief because I had really want to (qualify) and I did not turn in a great round,” Plewe explained. “I’m glad that I made it. I’ll have an opportunity to redeem myself.”

Although Lingenfelter and Plewe were the only two Dolores players to qualify for state, teammates Kailey Case and Kali Partington performed as Case finished 23rd with a score of 109 and Partington tied for 34th with a score of 125.

“This was only my second year, and it was a huge improvement from last year,” said Case, who finished one shot behind the region’s final individual state qualifier. “It was super fun going out there, and my teammates are awesome, and they are some of my best friends. It has been awesome to see the program grow.”

Thanks to the solid rounds from its players, Dolores placed sixth in the 12-team regional tournament. Rifle finished first overall in the team standings, while Mullen finished second, and Gunnison finished third.

When asked about her team’s performance at Regionals, Dolores head coach Monica Plewe flashed a wide smile before praising her players’ efforts and honing in on their work ethics and integrity.

“They work really hard, and they see that improvement because of their work ethic,” Plewe said. “With my group of girls, the biggest thing is their integrity. Last year, they were all freshman and they were super new. This year, they’ve matured into wonderful golfers, and they’re awesome.”

Now less than two weeks removed from the Class 3A State Tournament, at Elmwood Golf Club in Pueblo on May 21-22, Lingenfelter and Plewe will look to hone their swings and putting strokes with the help of coaches and local players.

“We want (Lingenfelter and Plewe) to get that experience under their belts,” said Monica Plewe, when asked about her team’s goals heading into the state tournament. “We just need to get them the experience of playing in that big tournament.”