The Iowa State and Spanish golf communities were shocked on Monday evening to learn of the death of standout Celia Barquin Arozamena, whose body was found mid-morning at a golf course in Ames, Iowa. Barquin Arozamena was 22 years old.
Officers responded at 10:24 a.m. to a call to Coldwater Golf Links at 10:24 a.m. when players found a golf bag on the golf course, which they considered suspicious. Ames police investigated the property and found Barquin Arozamena's body “some distance” from the bag, according to a released Ames P.D. statement.
***Update*** Ames Police charge Collin Daniel Richards, age 22 with 1st Degree Murder. Please keep the victim and her family in your thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/XmpSx9X0m0
— Ames Police (@AmesPolice) September 18, 2018
After an investigation, Ames police determined Barquin Arozamena had been assaulted and died from her injuries. They charged 22-year-old Colin Daniel Richards with her murder on Monday evening, and Richards was arrested at the conclusion of the investigation.
Barquin Arozamena, who came to Iowa State from Puente San Miguel in Spain, had finished her collegiate golf career in Spring 2018 but remained in school this fall semester to complete her undergraduate degree in civil engineering. In her remarkable playing career, she became Iowa State’s career leader in stroke average and was All-Big 12 three times. She won the Big 12 Championship in April, and she was the 2018 Iowa State female athlete of the year. She qualified for the 2018 US Women's Open in Alabama with a closing 66 in sectional qualifying. She won the European Amateur in July, and she was through to the second stage of the LPGA's revamped Q-School system.
The Iowa State community responded with a statement from university, athletic department and golf team officials and coaches.
"This is a tragic and senseless loss of a talented young woman and an acclaimed student athlete," Iowa State University President Dr. Wendy Wintersteen said in a statement. "We mourn with her family and friends in Spain, her teammates here and all who knew her. On behalf of the entire Cyclone family, I extend our deep condolences to Celia's family and her many friends and teammates at Iowa State. We are deeply saddened."
“We are all devastated,” Iowa State women’s golf coach Christie Martens added. “Celia was a beautiful person who was loved by all her teammates and friends. She loved Iowa State and was an outstanding representative for our school. We will never forget her competitive drive to be the best and her passion for life.”
