Last season, the Moffat County girls golf team qualified two players for the state championships and sent more than a single player to the top-level tournament for the first time in years.

This week, the same pair proved they could do it again.

MCHS had two athletes make the cut for the state event during Tuesday’s Class 3A Region 4 Tournament in Alamosa, with junior Reagan Hafey shooting an 89 for third place and sophomore Taylor Powell shooting a 114 to tie for 19th.

With sophomore Mia Cheuvront placing 24th with a 117, the Bulldogs placed fifth as a team with a 320 total.

Coach Tim Adams noted that the trio had one of the best group scores he’s seen this season.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever finished ahead of Gunnison — that’s a big deal,” he said. “Those girls did a great job.”

Apart from Hafey making it to state last season, Adams said her recent rounds also showed she was likely to make it, coming back into the 90s after two triple-digit tourneys.

“I think she struggled at Aspen, shot well over 100, but then she played well at Gunnison and Tiara Rado,” he said. “I would have been surprised if she didn’t qualify for state. She’s worked so hard and really wants to do well.”

Alamosa’s Cattails Golf Course was the setting for the meet for the second consecutive year, which Hafey said was helpful as she hit the links even before the customary Monday practice round.

“I went down there on Sunday and golfed around with my dad, and Monday morning I played another nine holes,” Hafey said. I think it really helped getting to know the course, just being able to go up to a teebox and being able to hit five or six balls to figure out what I needed.”

Hafey earned par on six holes and shot no higher than a 7 on the rest.

“I think I was very focused, and I kind of went in there with the mentality that I wasn’t going to worry about anything else and just play golf how I know how to play golf,” she said. “I didn’t look at the leaderboard the entire time until I finished my 18th hole, because I didn’t want to get in my head. I never broke 90 before, and that really helped me see what I was capable of and put everything into perspective.”

She said being paired with a Gunnison competitor she’s played with previously was also beneficial.

“I played with Riley Murphy quite a bit since our coach and the Gunnison coach are friends,” she said. “You already know you have a good group of girls who are nice and that helps out a lot.”

Adams noted Hafey’s consistency, particularly in her long game.

“From what I saw, she’s really started to put some distance on her drives. And they’re straight. She didn’t get in a whole lot of trouble off the tee,” he said.

While Hafey has competed in nearly every tournament this spring, Powell was unable to play for most of the season. However, she stepped right back into her groove starting with a 111 in Aspen to get her ready for regionals.

“Taylor played pretty well, had a few blowup holes, but she never gets too up or too down,” Adams said. “She just kinda keeps going, so she made the cut.”

As for Cheuvront, Adams said it was a bit of a heartbreaker that she barely missed going to state.

“They had a playoff for the last spot, and Mia missed that playoff by one stroke. She was just on the outside looking in — almost made it,” he said. “She and Taylor played the back nine first. Mia struggled, but then she played much better on the front. Her improvement this year has been pretty dramatic, especially once she was done with soccer and able to spend a little bit more time at golf practice.”

With light snow and rain in the morning, the conditions were cool and manageable, Adams added, especially given the regularity of bad weather this season.

“I think we’ve only had two tournaments where the weather has been nice, so hopefully this next week will be the third,” he said.

The Class 3A State Championships take place May 31 and June 1 at The Broadlands in Broomfield, including a practice round on Memorial Day.

Though there’s minimal practice time, Hafey said she’s looking forward to being back at the high-level contest and the challenge it entails.

“I’m excited to get out there and ready for the good weather. I just want to enjoy it no matter which way it goes,” she said.