Kaitlyn Parohinog is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Mountain for AZPreps365.com.

Desert Vista High School finished first in the Tempe Invitational girls golf tournament with a team overall score of 309 strokes. Highland High School came in second with 322 and Desert Mountain came in third with 338. The event was held Thursday at the Ken McDonald Golf Course.

The lowest scorer individually was Madeleine Nguyen. She shot a 71, 2 under par. She was the only golfer to shoot under par on the day.

This was also the second time Nguyen shot under par in her life, with the first time coming this past weekend at the Chandler City Championship.

She shot three birdies on the back nine and attributed her irons to being able to continue with her momentum.

“This is my best round ever,” Nguyen said.

She made crucial birdie putts throughout her round that allowed her to finish with her personal best score and lift Desert Vista to the win.

Desert Mountain’s lowest scorer was Madie Hepner with an 80 on the day. Teammate Anissa Matkin finished just behind her with an 81. They finished ninth and 10th respectively.

Desert Mountain junior Madie Hepner hits a fairway shot. (Kaitlyn Parohinog/AZpreps365)

Hepner had a solid start to the tournament, shooting even on the first two holes and getting a birdie on the fourth hole. Through the front nine she was 4 over par.

“There’s always opportunities on the back so I was looking forward to that,” Hepner said.

Through the back nine, Hepner was able to sink a birdie putt from around 20 feet out. She cheered as she watched the ball fall into the cup.

“At the time I wasn’t really hitting a lot of greens … I was like, OK  just get it close … the goal is always to get it in,” Hepner said.

Lauren Basye, a senior from Highland, put the pressure on Hepner as they played in the same group. Bayse shot even through the first seven holes. She ended up finishing the front nine with a 1-over-par 37.

“I played the front nine a little more than the back so I felt a little more prepared and … more comfortable with my shots,” Basye said.

Basye’s teammate Baylee Hodgman also shot 1 over par in the front nine. On the back nine she managed to go 1 under through hole 13 with a birdie.

Highland senior Baylee Hodgman tees off. (Kaitlyn Parohinog/AZpreps365)

Hodgman finished her round with an even 73 and finished second overall. This was also her personal best round in her high school career.

“My heart’s racing really fast … I’m really proud of myself,” Hodgman said.

She attributed her driver and short game to keeping her on par throughout the day.

Kendall Hayward, a senior from Highland, shot 2 over par on the front nine but quickly went back down to even by getting two birdies on holes 10 and 11. She would finish the day 1 over par.

Two Desert Vista players, Nguyen and Peyton Bell, also shot one over par on the front nine.

Hailey Bolander, a senior from Desert Vista, shot 2 under par on the back nine to secure herself a fifth place finish overall.

Desert Mountain’s No. 1 Ellie Shirley started the round 3 over par after hitting her first tee shot out of bounds. She recovered in the next three holes, shooting par.

Desert Mountain juniors Anissa Matkin (left) and Ellie Shirley (right) warm up. (Kaitlyn Parohinog/AZpreps365)

Seniors Taylor Crowder and Baylor Vrabel finished with a 91 and 98 respectively. All of the Wolves were able to shoot under 100 on the day and keep their team score low enough to place third, one place better than last year.

Desert Mountain plays next in the Scottsdale School District Girls Invitational on Monday, Sept. 27 at Talking Stick Golf Course.