Sun Athletes of the Week: Chad Fosburg and Amy Sauer

Male Athlete of the Week: CHAD FOSBURG

School: Durango

Class: Junior

Sport: Boys Golf

Family: Father Gary; mother Dianna; brother Nathan; sister Tara.

Last week: Fosburg captured the 4A Southern Zone Golf Championships on Tuesday, shooting a one-under par 71 (36-35) to win the individual title by a single stroke. Fosburg's score -- which was capped by a birdie on the course's finishing hole -- was all the more impressive considering the day's windy conditions. "I knew on 18 I needed to birdie the hole," Fosburg said. "I hit a nice drive, and I got up and down out of the bunker. I had a pretty good idea that maybe that would win it." Fosburg is no stranger to winning the event. He captured the trophy as a freshman and finished second last season.

This season: Fosburg has been one of Durango's most consistent performers this year, averaging 38.8 strokes per nine holes during the regular season. His best round -- a three-under 33 -- came when his team needed him most when teammates Randy Creighton and Mitch Carlson were out of town during a critical match against division rival Bonanza. "He's a big-game golfer," Trailblazers coach Bob Barnett said. "He's played big-time golf for a lot of years, and he's really matured." This week, Fosburg has his sights set on the team title at the 4A State Championships -- an event his team lost in a tiebreaker to Galena last season. "Last year, we were kind of expected to win it so that was disappointing," Fosburg said. "We feel really good this year. We believe in each other."

Female Athlete of the Week: AMY SAUER

School: Centennial

Class: Sophomore

Sport: Softball

Family: Father Tom; mother Joan; brothers Stephen, David.

Last week: Sauer pitched her way to four victories, helping the first-year Bulldogs to the Sunset Region title and a berth in this week's 4A State Tournament. Sauer worked 28 innings during the three-day event, allowing just seven earned runs and 22 hits. She struck out 32 batters and walked only five. Sauer also helped her club with the bat, singling home two runs in the team's 4-3, 11-inning win over Durango on Thursday and knocking in two more runs in Centennial's 3-2 title win over the Blazers on Friday. "She's gotten better each week, and that was definitely her strongest week so far," Bulldogs coach Cyndi Parus said. "When you play teams like Bonanza and Durango, they're going to score runs. But she was able to keep us in those games, and as long as we're close we believe our hitters can pull us through."

This season: As in the tournament, Sauer threw the bulk of Centennial's games during the regular season, working 105.1 innings and bringing an 11-3 record into the postseason. She struck out 113 batters and walked six, allowing 73 hits and just 26 earned runs. Centennial finished the regular season with a solid 22-7 mark, but Sauer said her team had unfinished business. "We had a lot to prove to Bonanza and Durango," she said. "They both humiliated us here (at home) during the season, and we had to prove we were better than that. The excitement of wanting to go out and win helped me throw hard, and I was hitting mostly all of my spots."

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