Vail Mountain School pair earns top-10 finishes at 3A state golf tournament

Vail Mountain School’s Haley Plumley and Logan Nobrega earned all-state first-team honors after top-10 placements at this week’s 3A state golf tournament at Aspen Golf Club. Plumley shot a 181 over the two-day competition on Tuesday and Wednesday to take eighth overall in the 84-athlete field and Nobrega tied for 10th with a 185.

“The state tournament was a fantastic event held at an enjoyable course with some seriously challenging greens,” Plumley stated.

“Competing against talented golfers on a tough course is always exciting and I definitely created some memories. Despite the ups and downs, the tournament was a great chance for me to see where I am in my game right now.”

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On day one, Nobrega was in 10th after shooting an 89 while Plumley sat tied for 20th with her 95. The freshman said she felt as though she was still getting into the swing of things — no pun intended — after returning to golf post-snowboarding nationals in April.

“But after a good night’s sleep, I came into the second day with a clearer focus and better understanding of the challenging greens and the added length that we had not been playing the last few tournaments,” Plumley said.

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Plumley opened with a double-bogey and three-straight bogeys before a par on the 337-yard par-4 sixth hole and a birdie on the par-5 seventh. The 340-yard par-4 11th-hole signified a turning point for the Gore Ranger.

“I found myself in a bit of trouble, but I managed to recover not just once, but twice. This helped boost my confidence and momentum for the rest of the round,” she said. Though it was a quadruple bogey, Plumley said the hole served as a reminder that she was capable of scrambling out of challenges.

“This helped me to stay focused and keep a positive attitude, which I believe helped me to my solid finish,” she said.

The freshman birdied the 15th and followed with three-straight pars to slide up to eighth and finish as the top freshman in the 3A tournament. Nobrega would shoot 46 on the front-nine of the second round before finishing with a 50 to maintain her top-10 finish and second-straight all-state nod. The junior was ninth in 2022.

VMS senior Annika Shikverg (231) took 63rd and junior Sage Sappenfield (239) finished 70th as the Gore Rangers finished with 590 points for eighth place in the team scoring. St. Mary’s Academy’s Maddy Bante (143) took an 11-stroke victory over Peak to Peak’s Noelle Thompson to defend her individual crown.

“She just goes for it, and when she gets a little bit in the lead or gets behind a hair, she just mentally gets tough. She’s an incredible golfer,” St. Mary’s coach Ann Wolta Blackstone told CHSAANow.com. Blackstone’s Wildcats (521) also defended the team title.

Plumley said she’ll be busy with both snowboarding and golf this summer. She’s looking forward to bonding with her teammates at on-snow camps at Mt. Hood as well as in New Zealand and Austria.

“However, I’m also committed to keeping up with my golf game this summer,” she said, adding that she plans on squeezing in a few tournaments and clinics between her snowboard commitments.

“Balancing both sports might be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to the experiences and the chance to grow as an athlete in both disciplines,” she stated. “It’s going to be an action-packed summer, and I can’t wait to see what it has in store.”