RIVERTON – The Torrington Lady Blazer golf team saved its best for last, and as a result, it was a history-making weekend for the team.
Not only did the Lady Blazers become the first team in school history to win a golf state championship, but the team also set a pair of state records over the weekend.
Torrington’s team score of 526 is the lowest in history of Wyoming Class 3A golf, and senior Caleigh Essert’s 146 is the lowest individual 3A state tournament score on record.
The Lady Blazer dominated the 3A State Golf Championship, finishing 80 strokes ahead of second-place Lander Valley and 84 strokes ahead of third-place Star Valley at the Riverton Country Club.
“They played phenomenally,” THS head coach Jeff Halley said. “We knew Caleigh would be good. Kaylee Wilson played her two best rounds of the year. Laura (Halley) had two of her better rounds of her career. Jade (Reinhardt) was right there.”
For the tournament, Essert fired a pair of 73s for a 146 to finish 32 strokes in front of Rachel Stoinski of Lander Valley. Wilson was fourth with a 93 and 96 for a weekend total of 189. Halley capped off her high school career with a 102 and 96 to finish ninth.
Reinhardt placed just outside the top 10 with a 13th with a 201. Jenna Kaufman shot a 254 to finish 34th.
The victory produced a big sigh of relief from Halley.
“We’ve had a lot of really good teams,” he said. “We’ve been close and to do it dominantly. We kicked their butt.”
For their top 10 finishes, Essert, Wilson and Halley earned All-State honors.
In the boys’ division, Jordan Malm finished 10th with a 167, and with the top 10 finish, Malm earned his fourth All-State honor.
“He’s in a hard spot. He’s kind of out there by himself. The young kids are still learning,” Halley said. “I’m so proud of him. He kept in there and battling. He’s a 4-time all-stater. There aren’t very many people who can say that.”
Malachi Braddy placed 55th with a 224, while Bodie Herring shot a 240 for 57th place. Ryder Hackbarth finished 60th with a 252.
As a team, the Blazers finished 12th with 883. Lander won the team title with 629, while Worland was second with 639. Star Valley was third with 660.
“This is such a phenomenal group. We had all four seniors make All-State. Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend,” Halley said. “It was so much fun. We are going to miss all these kids and their leadership. It’s been a fun run.”
