Lexys Siebrands of Fort Morgan putts during the Fort Morgan Tournament.
There was golf in Fort Morgan after all.
Weather forced the postponement of Fort Morgan High School's March 12 tournament, with cancellation a possibility. However, maintenance of Fort Lupton's course required rescheduling their tournament planned for Tuesday, April 2.
Fort Morgan jumped at the chance to claim the date.
At the varsity level, ten schools competed at Quail Dunes Golf Course fielding 39 golfers.
The Mustangs have two varsity golfers on the roster. Peyton Smith was unable to play because of injury. Lexys Siebrands played and finished 30 out of 39 golfers, shooting 115 for 41 over.
Eight of the 39 qualified for the team competition. Holy Family had the only two golfers who shot under par: Hailey Schalk and Jessica Mason, both at one under. They were followed by Jessica Zapf of Windsor at one over, rounding out the top three of the tournament.
However it's the top four from each team that determines the team's score. Windsor was able to take the title based on their more consistent scores.
Holy Family's top four golfers averaged eleven over par, while Windsor's top four averaged just seven over. Teams with fewer are not eligible, thus eliminating the Frederick Warriors and Fort Morgan Mustangs.
Twenty-eight junior varsity golfers also competed. While the varsity teams shot eighteen holes, the JV golfers played nine. The junior varsity scores were not grouped into team rankings.
Junior varsity golfers representing Fort Morgan were Citlally Ruedas and Kylie Morford.
Jeff Morford, Kylie's father, is encouraged by and encouraging of her progress.
"She really enjoys it," he said. "She has taken two-week lessons over the last for or five years," with Quail Dunes golf pro Matt Pickering, even though this is her first year of playing on the Fort Morgan team.
Fort Morgan head coach Greg Gotto was pleased the Fort Morgan golfers and with the tournament overall. Still, he considers this season to be one more of development than of contention.
The Tri-Valley League, which now includes Fort Morgan, has last year's state champion (Windsor), the top two teams in the state and five of the state's top ten golfers.
"This being a league tournament, it's tough because it's by far the toughest league in the state," Gotto said. "The girls are getting a lot of experience playing against great players."
The next outing for Fort Morgan will be 9 a.m. on Friday, April 5 hosted by Northridge High School at Boomerang Golf Club in Greeley.