Steamboat golfer takes fourth at regionals, qualifies for state

Steamboat Springs High School freshman Kaitlyn Grommeck is headed to the Colorado High School Activities Association 4A State Golf Championships following a fourth-place finish at the Region 4 Championship on Monday, May 23, at The Links at Cobble Creek.
Grommeck finished fourth with an 82 on the day, five strokes out of third place. Sofia Choi of Mullen was the victor with a 68.
Grommeck had a rough start, shooting over par on five of the first six teams, then she found her groove and shot par on nine of the last 12 holes.
“She struggled a little bit with her putting,” said head coach Shannon Hanley. They had recently aerated the greens. It was difficult for (the golfers) if they got on the wrong side of the hole.”
Hanley said Grommeck hit a lot of greens, but putting was her weakness on the day.
Grommeck will head to state on Tuesday, May 31, at Tiara Rado Golf Course and compete through two rounds against the best 4A golfers in the state.
Last year, the champion hit a 140 and everyone who shot a 161 or better finished in the top 10.
“I think she has all the talent in the world to finish in the top 10,” said Hanley. “Hopefully she gets her putter working. The kid with the hot putter always wins the event.”
Grommeck has a summer of golf planned, so she will come back her sophomore year ready to improve upon her first spring of high school golf. She won two tournaments, finished second twice, fourth at regionals and qualified for state.
Grommeck competed at regionals alongside two other Sailors, Catherine Larock and Molly Allsberry.
Larock finished 27th with a 104, which she was happy about.
“Catherine, she was super excited,” said Hanley. “Her hard work is starting to pay off.”
Allsberry took 48th with a 120.
Hanley said she asked both girls what their favorite shot of the day was, something she likes to ask to keep them focused on positive moments of the day, and they had no trouble recalling some of their favorite wild shots from the day.
Both Allsberry and Larock will return as co-captains next year.
“I’m super proud of them,” Hanley said. “I think they all had experienced some really good shots to culminate the end of their season. They were all excited about their improvement over the season.”
Shelby Reardon is the assistant editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach her, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.

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