Matthew Badger is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to Cortez High School for AZPreps365.com.

PHOENIX -- Jaxon Kratz broke 40 for the first time in his career, but the Cortez golf team came up short to Apollo in their final match of the season on Thursday.

The Colts lost 214-194  in a three-team match also featuring Moon Valley, which could not post an official score with only three players present at the match.

Kratz shot a career-low 3-over-par 39 at Cave Creek Golf Course to cap off his season. The junior attributed the success to practicing his iron shots.

“I noticed the improvement,” Kratz said. “I was getting it down on the fairway better, and had better shots onto the green. Overall, it was better.” 

Cortez coach Billie Lamkin also noted his improvements.

“From the beginning of the season until now, Jaxon’s made drastic strides in his style,” she said.

Kratz has his eyes set on receiving state honors next season, and hopes to use this score as his new benchmark. 

“For nine holes, I hope to shoot even-par. The most I would like to shoot is 4-over-par,” he said. 

It was a special night for Cortez, who celebrated their two seniors – Eddie Espinoza and Yarely Correa. Espinoza shot a 21-over-par 57 in his final match and rated his performance a “seven out of ten”. 

He hopes to become a bank accountant in the future, and said his best memories with the team came from the seniors last season.

“They taught me not to worry about my bad shots. Just think about the next hole, not the one you just played,” Espinoza said.

Correa, who plans on studying law, shot a 36-over-par 72 in her second official match of the season.

Kratz and Lamkin both spoke highly of the seniors. 

“They’re definitely good teammates,” he said. “Yarely’s improved a lot. She’s worked on her putter, her short irons, her driver, and they’ve all been a lot better.”

“Eddie also improved a lot from last year,” Kratz said. “He had trouble with his irons and drivers, but this year he’s hitting them a lot better and shooting better.”

Lamkin said, “Eddie’s very coachable. He just has this mind. He’s very soft-spoken, but he’s committed. That commitment was consistent in his mind, and that showed in the way he shot any of his shots.”

“Yarely came into the season late but she was consistent with all her practices, constantly asking questions,” she said. “[She showed] resilience, not ever giving up and saying, ‘how can I do this better next time.’”

“As two young adults going into law and mathematics, I’m pretty proud of where they’re coming from and where they’re going to be,” she said.

Cortez finished the season 9-2, one of the best records the team has ever had. Lamkin was proud of her team’s dedication throughout the season.

“They had consistent effort, not only in our matches but also in our practices,” she said. “Also constant encouragement to each other and holding each other accountable to do better.”  

While this marks the end of the season for Cortez, Apollo and Moon Valley will continue for another week. Apollo will host Centennial and Sunrise Mountain in their next match on Tuesday at Corte Bella Golf Course. Both schools will finish their season with a visit to Central on Thursday at Encanto Golf Course.