Colorado State University Athletics
Monday, September 21
Fort Collins, CO / Ptarmigan CC
Colorado State
vs
Ben Connell Ram Classic
Rams Close out First Day of Invite
9/21/2026 8:33:00 PM | Women's Golf
Kaneshiro, Soralum card eagles
Laura Cilek admits those were fun times.
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Playing, not watching. No live scoring, just the number in your head for your round, then waiting until the very end to find out where everything stood.
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Good times. Kara Kaneshiro can imagine what it's like to be a coach, to see the ebb and flow of the entire day and have to wear it a bit. And she's glad imagining is all she has to do.
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"It would drive me nuts. Being a coach is hard because you can help, but you're not really in control, but they're very supportive, and I'm sure we stress them out a lot," Kaneshiro said. "They also see all the good moments here, and they're a part of it, so they're awesome."
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By the end of two rounds, they're also spent, emotionally as much as anything. The first day of the Ben Connel Ram Invitational at Ptarmigan Country Club took Cilek and assistant Brad Brier for a bit of a ride, the Rams sitting in the middle of the pack of the field.
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Only two teams played the course under par the opening 18, but eight did so the second round. UNLV did it best, under in both, posting the best round of the day in the second at 10-under (12-under overall).
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The Rams started the day slowly, then picked up the pace, the final four holes of the first round vaulting the team from near the bottom toward the top. Then they settled. Then they rose. Then they settled.
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Thus, Cilek recalling and romanticizing the days of old.
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"There's definitely a part of the golf course we get to where I'm like, 'oh, I'm gonna get punched in the stomach,' and then it comes back around. I think just over time, you get used to it," Cilek said. "You look just to understand where every player's at, and less of an expectation of we try not to look at other teams, just what's happening on some holes before us and behind us.
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"It's definitely a rollercoaster. You have to get really good at just showing up in the moment for each player and realizing that the only thing you can do to really control anything is help them figure out a good number, and you move on."
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Both Kaneshiro and freshman Khemmanut Soralum found a good number in the second round, and on the scorecard it's called an eagle. Kaneshiro posted hers on the par-5 fifth, Soralum on the par-5 16th.
An eagle is a highlight of any round, and it helped keep both of them under par for the day – Kaneshiro at 3-under, her teammate 1-under.
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Soralum plays with joy and a bit of excitement, an aspect of her game she's trying to embrace and control at the same time. When she sank her putt on 16, Breier went in for the fist bump, Soralum the high five. For good reason: fist bumps hurt her finger.
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Eagles, however, help her card.
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"Yeah, but I need to be like calm and not like excited too much," she said. "It's because it's gonna really blow everything up. It's fun. I like to wave to (my teammates) when I see them pass every hole. I like to make other people on my team feel like more comfortable and fun, and enjoying being around when I see them."
Â
Kaneshiro sees it and it brings a smile to her face, as she was following Soralum during the round. It reminds her of when she was a freshman and coming to the realization it was suddenly a team sport, not an individual pursuit, and that one person's joy could bring you out of a funk.
Â
It wasn't just Soralum, as fellow freshman Jacey Kage has been in the lineup the first two tournaments and the senior has enjoyed watching them adapt.
Â
"I think coming in as a freshman especially is really fun. You don't really have expectations," Kaneshiro said. "You kind of just play and hope you do your best, hope you can contribute to your team, so it's really awesome to see them crack the lineup and play well. Like Khem, she was really fun to wave to every hole, and I saw her make a lot of birdies, which is always good to see."
Â
The final round finished just prior to sunset, leaving the teams just enough time to grab dinner and rest up for Tuesday's final round. The Rams were set to leave together and eat, where Kaneshiro figured they would talk about things other than golf, ready to give a final push in a field where 18 players have scores under par.
Â
It's a round where she'll know what's going on but sometimes wish for the days when she didn't. And yes, her players may have her on edge sometimes, but they do it in the right way. Especially the freshmen, and the Rams have three.
Â
And knowing what she does know, that's the way she prefers.
Â
"It's my favorite part about coaching, but you gotta get the right players who are willing to do that to really grow a team, grow a culture, and those two are gonna be awesome players for us for the next four years," she said. "I always tell them, I'm gonna hold you accountable to making your teammates better, and the moment you're not, we're gonna call you out, and that's coaching, right? But I tell them, too, the person in front of you and back of you shouldn't know what you're shooting. So that's a great energy.
Â
"You can't pass your teammate a ball or do anything. The thing you can do for your teammates is to control your emotions, great attitude, the whole round, regardless of what's going on, because you could really be carrying the person in front of you or in back of you, regardless of what's going on for you, and that's the one way in college golf that you can really influence your teammates."
Â
While making life a bit easier on the coach.
Â
Â
Playing, not watching. No live scoring, just the number in your head for your round, then waiting until the very end to find out where everything stood.
Â
Good times. Kara Kaneshiro can imagine what it's like to be a coach, to see the ebb and flow of the entire day and have to wear it a bit. And she's glad imagining is all she has to do.
Â
"It would drive me nuts. Being a coach is hard because you can help, but you're not really in control, but they're very supportive, and I'm sure we stress them out a lot," Kaneshiro said. "They also see all the good moments here, and they're a part of it, so they're awesome."
Â
By the end of two rounds, they're also spent, emotionally as much as anything. The first day of the Ben Connel Ram Invitational at Ptarmigan Country Club took Cilek and assistant Brad Brier for a bit of a ride, the Rams sitting in the middle of the pack of the field.
Â
Only two teams played the course under par the opening 18, but eight did so the second round. UNLV did it best, under in both, posting the best round of the day in the second at 10-under (12-under overall).
Â
The Rams started the day slowly, then picked up the pace, the final four holes of the first round vaulting the team from near the bottom toward the top. Then they settled. Then they rose. Then they settled.
Â
Thus, Cilek recalling and romanticizing the days of old.
Â
"There's definitely a part of the golf course we get to where I'm like, 'oh, I'm gonna get punched in the stomach,' and then it comes back around. I think just over time, you get used to it," Cilek said. "You look just to understand where every player's at, and less of an expectation of we try not to look at other teams, just what's happening on some holes before us and behind us.
Â
"It's definitely a rollercoaster. You have to get really good at just showing up in the moment for each player and realizing that the only thing you can do to really control anything is help them figure out a good number, and you move on."
Â
Both Kaneshiro and freshman Khemmanut Soralum found a good number in the second round, and on the scorecard it's called an eagle. Kaneshiro posted hers on the par-5 fifth, Soralum on the par-5 16th.
An eagle is a highlight of any round, and it helped keep both of them under par for the day – Kaneshiro at 3-under, her teammate 1-under.
Â
Soralum plays with joy and a bit of excitement, an aspect of her game she's trying to embrace and control at the same time. When she sank her putt on 16, Breier went in for the fist bump, Soralum the high five. For good reason: fist bumps hurt her finger.
Â
Eagles, however, help her card.
Â
"Yeah, but I need to be like calm and not like excited too much," she said. "It's because it's gonna really blow everything up. It's fun. I like to wave to (my teammates) when I see them pass every hole. I like to make other people on my team feel like more comfortable and fun, and enjoying being around when I see them."
Â
Kaneshiro sees it and it brings a smile to her face, as she was following Soralum during the round. It reminds her of when she was a freshman and coming to the realization it was suddenly a team sport, not an individual pursuit, and that one person's joy could bring you out of a funk.
Â
It wasn't just Soralum, as fellow freshman Jacey Kage has been in the lineup the first two tournaments and the senior has enjoyed watching them adapt.
Â
"I think coming in as a freshman especially is really fun. You don't really have expectations," Kaneshiro said. "You kind of just play and hope you do your best, hope you can contribute to your team, so it's really awesome to see them crack the lineup and play well. Like Khem, she was really fun to wave to every hole, and I saw her make a lot of birdies, which is always good to see."
Â
The final round finished just prior to sunset, leaving the teams just enough time to grab dinner and rest up for Tuesday's final round. The Rams were set to leave together and eat, where Kaneshiro figured they would talk about things other than golf, ready to give a final push in a field where 18 players have scores under par.
Â
It's a round where she'll know what's going on but sometimes wish for the days when she didn't. And yes, her players may have her on edge sometimes, but they do it in the right way. Especially the freshmen, and the Rams have three.
Â
And knowing what she does know, that's the way she prefers.
Â
"It's my favorite part about coaching, but you gotta get the right players who are willing to do that to really grow a team, grow a culture, and those two are gonna be awesome players for us for the next four years," she said. "I always tell them, I'm gonna hold you accountable to making your teammates better, and the moment you're not, we're gonna call you out, and that's coaching, right? But I tell them, too, the person in front of you and back of you shouldn't know what you're shooting. So that's a great energy.
Â
"You can't pass your teammate a ball or do anything. The thing you can do for your teammates is to control your emotions, great attitude, the whole round, regardless of what's going on, because you could really be carrying the person in front of you or in back of you, regardless of what's going on for you, and that's the one way in college golf that you can really influence your teammates."
Â
While making life a bit easier on the coach.
Â
Players Mentioned
Monday, October 13
Thursday, August 07
Monday, October 11
Friday, October 08