Duchesne seniors Maddie Denker, left, and Reagan Potts not only led the charge to the Pioneers’ first-ever state championship in girls’ golf, but the pair also earned all-state honors.
After a near miss on a state trophy last season, the Duchesne girls golf team members decided collectively that a second chance wouldn’t slip through their fingers this time.
At the end of the 2023 season, 12 strokes kept the Pioneers off the podium. This season, however, the team made up for that — and then some.
Duchesne brought home the program’s first team title by winning the Class 1 tournament, played between Oct. 21-22 at Crown Pointe Golf Course in Farmington.
Not only did the Pioneers take the title, but seniors Maddie Denker and Reagan Potts earned all-state honors leading the team’s charge. The duo ended with scores of 167 and 182 as the pair finished fourth and 13th, respectively.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, honestly,” Denker said. “Our team is very close and it definitely helped in our success this season. We talk all the time and know each other so well which is great. I know these friendships are going to last past our high school days and I’m so grateful for this team.”
As a team, Duchesne shot a 371 in the first round followed by a 374 to close the tournament with a 745 aggregate to better South Harrison’s effort of 757.
Denker said that her positive vibes about how the tournament was going to end, as a whole, were previewed with a big putt she made to close out the first day of the event. While South Harrison was up by four strokes through 18 holes, Denker said the Pioneers had the leader just where the team wanted its competition.
“I think the birdie I made on 18 to close the first round was what sealed the deal in my mind even though we were four strokes back headed into round two,” Denker said. “I felt like everything in my game and my teammates’ games were clicking at the right time. We also had a team meeting that night in the hotel and I could just kind of feel that this was our moment to win a championship.”
While Denker ended Day 1 on a high, Potts started the final day on a big note and that helped her carry right on through the championship finish, she said.
“After my first day of state, coming off a very bad personal round, I knew I could do so much better so I really tried to get out of my head and play like I knew I could,” Potts said. “The moment I knew I was going to have much more success was coming off a birdie on my first hole of the day. This excitement and relief got me in the mental state I needed to be for the rest of my round.”
In addition to the all-state finishes, Duchesne had strong tournaments from Leah Krupich (18th), Katie Stockhausen (39th), and Bridget Caldwell (55th).
For her part, Potts, who shaved more than 20 strokes off her state finish as a junior said the team’s coach, Denny Walters deserves all the credit for the title.
“I think our success can be attributed to coach,” Potts said. “He pushes us to be the best we can, and without his knowledge of the game there is no way we would have ever gotten this far.”
Walters said that the fifth-place finish in 2023 proved as a crystalizing moment that led to the championship one year later.
The coach gave credit to everyone on the Pioneers’ golf team for buying into the team’s goal to achieve success.
“We decided at that moment we wanted to win in 2024,” Walters said. “Every girl on the team pulled in the same direction and did what championship teams do. (The girls committed to) work harder than anyone else and believe in the process. All of the girls on this team wanted to improve from last year and they put the hard work in to make that happen. So, as you progress your depth of talent gets better every year.”
