Over May 6th and 7th, the Trojan Golf team competed in the 2024 AIA Division III State Championship. The tournament, held at Omni Tucson National Resort for the previous six years, took place at Aguila Golf Course in Laveen this year. This change was welcomed by many teams from the valley, giving them the chance to practice on the course throughout the year since it was no longer so far away. The Trojans took advantage of this, playing 12 practice rounds at Aguila throughout the year. Their practice and learning the course would come to pay off.  

The team played solid golf on the first day, shooting a team score of 297 (+9). Junior Ailis Tribolet and Junior Ollie Kingkade led the scoring on the first day, with Tribolet posting a 3-under par 69 and Kingkade a 1-over par 73. For most of the round, the Trojans sat in first place by as many as six shots. After nine holes, they were 7-under par as a team and in first place. They struggled on the back nine, however, with a combined team score of +5 on hole 17 alone. This lost them the lead and put them seven shots behind powerhouse Scottsdale Prep at the end of day one. Ailis Tribolet sat in second on the individual leaderboard.  

Come day two, the Trojans were determined to come back and finish the job. Implementing a more conservative play style, they performed much better. The team shot their lowest team score of the year, posting a 287 (-1). Senior Carson Rowe shot an even-par 72 and Ailis Tribolet shot an astounding 9-under par 63. These scores were enough to allow the Trojans to complete the comeback and finish in first place!  

The team finished with a team score of 584, edging out Scottsdale Christian by nine shots. Ailis Tribolet finished 1st in the individual, posting a 12-under 132 for the tournament. Valley entered the tournament ranked #5 with little expectation to win, but their hard work and smart play brought them home the championship. Principal Rugg and Ms. Clausen together expressed, "We are so proud of our Trojan Golf program and the way that they competed last week at state! We want to especially congratulate senior Carson Rowe on this achievement before he graduates as well as Ailis Tribolet for becoming the first female golf state champion in school history! We are looking forward to seeing the golf program bring back the golf state championship dynasty that was started a decade ago!"  

This win was the 8th state tile for the Trojan golf program, with the last coming in 2018-2019. It is also the 80th team state championship for Valley Christian Schools. GO TROJANS!