BROOMFIELD >> Niwot’s Wendy Cheruiyot impressively finished in a tie for 13th place at the state golf championships when she was a freshman last season.

Her goal this year was to do better as a sophomore.

On Tuesday at The Broadlands Golf Course, Cheruiyot accomplished her goal by carding a two-day score of 166 strokes at the end of the Class 4A tournament to finish sixth overall.

“I just wanted to finish better than I did last year,” Cheruiyot said. “I just wanted to stay on it and not give up too fast. Going with my team and making goals together, and achieving those goals, was awesome. We qualified as a team and we finished strong, and I did better than last year. So, it was a good season.”

Cheruiyot and the other golfers had to battle 20-mph wind gusts Tuesday, leading to a tough round, especially on the back nine.

“It started off kind of rough, trying to get my putts in and my driver working,” Cheruiyot said. “I just tried to stay strong and finish strong, make any putts and make any shots that could save a good last round. The wind definitely played a big part in how I played today, just trying to play with the wind and not against the wind.”

As a team, Niwot — Cheruiyot (166), Sonya Holmes (193), Adison Murphy (200) and Emmy Hostelly (210) — placed ninth.

“I’m really happy with what we did,” Niwot head coach Ed Weaver said. “I have a young team. I have a junior, two sophomores and a freshman, and only one of them was here last year. The other three were brand new to it, so they got to experience what it’s like to play in a state tournament.

“You can’t prepare for this. Regionals is regionals, but this is different. We had a good season. I’m happy for the girls individually, and I believe there’s a commitment to practice in the offseason and bring back a better season next year. I couldn’t be more happy.”

Monarch junior Pippa Cooper (169) was the next-highest local finisher, placing seventh.

Broomfield finished 11th in the team scoring and Centaurus placed 16th.