Celia Barquin Arozamena was prolific from a young age. 

The native from Puente San Miguel, Spain, was a high school star before coming to Ames, Iowa, as an 18-year-old who was one of the top junior golfers in Europe. She placed second in the 2014 European Girls Team Championship.

Barquin Arozamena — who was found dead this morning at Coldwater Golf Links at the age of 22 — was a freshman when she began to make waves as a part of the Cyclone women’s golf team.

She finished her freshman season second on the team in scoring at 73.33 strokes per round — which put her in the top-10 in school history for scoring average — and made the All-Big 12 First Team. 

From there, she continued to improve. 

“We will never forget her competitive drive to be the best and her passion for life,” said Christie Martens, women’s golf coach, in a statement from Iowa State Athletics.

In 2016, she ranked second on the team in scoring once again with a 73.82 average and made her second-straight First-Team All-Big 12 appearance. She was also First-Team Academic All-Big 12. Barquin Arozamena was a civil engineering major, and she was finishing up her degree this semester. 

Athletic Director Jamie Pollard said that Barquin Arozamena will be remembered for more than her athletic achievements. 

“Celia [Barquin Arozamena] had an infectious smile, a bubbly personality and anyone fortunate enough to know her was blessed,” Pollard said in a statement. 

In her third year on the golf team, Barquin Arozamena once again made First Team Academic All-Big 12 and led the Cyclones with a 73.34 scoring average, the fifth-best average in school history. She tied for 14th in the 2017 European Ladies Amateur, an event she went onto win in July 2018. 

As a senior, Barquin Arozamena cemented her place in Iowa State history, posting a 73.21 average and winning the Big 12 Championship, the first Iowa State women’s golfer to do, so since the Big 12 was established in 1996. She ended her Cyclone career with 16 top-10 finishes and was named the 2017-18 Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year.

“Celia was a beautiful person who was loved by her family and friends,” Martens said. “She loved Iowa State and was an outstanding representative for our school.”

Her outstanding form continued through the summer as she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open becoming only the third Cyclone in history to make the event. 

After her aforementioned triumph in the European Ladies Amateur following a blistering third-round 63, she set her eyes on a new target: the LPGA Tour. 

In August, the 22-year-old, having exhausted her collegiate eligibility, entered Stage l of the Tour’s qualifying school. On Aug. 26, she officially made it through to the second stage of qualifying. 

She was one step closer to the highest stage in women’s golf. 

Then she was gone. Found dead on the golf course, where she lived a good chunk of her life and where her future was bright. Celia Barquin Arozamena was 22.

“We mourn with her family and friends in Spain, her teammates here and all who knew her,” Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen said in a statement on Twitter. “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.”

For more details and information: