There were quite a few changes to this week’s football rankings, with Dakota Ridge (4A), Roosevelt (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A), and Fleming (6-man) taking over atop their respective classifications.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
ARVADA – He didn’t know it at the time, but Lucas Schulte captured one of the biggest moments in Colorado high school boys golf history on Tuesday.
On the final hole of his two-round state tournament at The Club at Rolling Hills, the Valor Christian senior sank a seven-foot putt to make eagle on the par-5 18th. The emphatically clutch finish capped an excellent 1-over day to wrap up his prep career.
Schulte was thrilled to go out the way he did.
(Brad Cochi)
He was even more thrilled when he found out afterwards the eagle ended up winning him the Class 5A individual championship and also clinched the team title for the Eagles.
“It’s special,” Schulte said. “The individual title is really special, obviously. But the team, we got fourth in league and I have to admit I was on the fence about our chances even though one of our teammates, Jack Armstrong, was super confident. All of our guys played really well and when that putt went in, I was shaking pretty good because I knew we might have a chance.”
Schulte didn’t win an event all season until Tuesday and never led throughout the state tournament. That lead largely belonged to Arapahoe senior Graham Dzengelewski, who eagled the first hole of the tournament on Monday and was the frontrunner the rest of the way until he made a double bogey on the par-4 16th of Day 2.
In a close home stretch that at one point included a three-way tie for the lead, Schulte’s dagger eagle putt and 72 were just enough to hold off late charges from Ralston Valley senior Trey Kirschner and Regis Jesuit senior Ryan Occhionero, who shot 69 and 70, respectively, to tie for second place.
The team title was also settled by Valor Christian chasing down Arapahoe with the latter leading after a brutally windy first day.
Down three strokes with two holes to play, the Eagles had two players on the course after junior Jack Armstrong had come in earlier with a tone-setting round of 74. Sophomore Colin Young had to punch his ball out of the trees on No. 18 but was able to get up and down for birdie and card a 78 and set up Schulte’s winning eagle.
That big point swing allowed the Eagles to win with a final team score of 452, which was just two strokes ahead of Arapahoe.
“I shared with them after our practice round that the team that is OK with not always being OK is going to manage to get through the rest of the round,” Valor Christian head coach Justen Byler said. “These are difficult greens and these are difficult courses they put you on for the state championship. I think it’s important to point out, too, that the Jeffco League is phenomenally competitive and playing some of the best teams in the state every week really has prepared us for moments like these.
“I’m super proud of our guys because they managed to have a lot of resolve and grind their way through. We had all four of the guys score at some point this weekend and as a result, a team truly won. Wow, what a special moment.”
Led by Occhionero, the Regis Jesuit boys made a Day 2 charge to finish third in the team competition after opening the final round in ninth place. Ralston Valley moved up four spots on the second day to finish fourth and Rock Canyon was fifth.
Individually, Prairie View’s Jeff Nelson, as well as Pine Creek’s Wesley Erling and Dzengelewski, who were tied for the lead after Day 1, finished in the three-way tie for fourth place.
The preseason football rankings were released on Monday for all seven classifications. Leading their respective polls are: Stratton/Liberty (6-man), Sedgwick County (8-man), Limon (1A), Delta (2A), Pueblo South (3A), Pine Creek (4A), and Cherry Creek (5A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
ARVADA – The Arapahoe boys golf team has been full of surprises at the Class 5A state tournament these past couple years.
Last fall, it was then-sophomore Will Kates who came out of nowhere on Day 2 to claim the individual title as a relative unknown. This time around, it’s a different Warriors golfer who has put himself, and his team, in position to win it all with a strong final round on Day 2. He’s also got some company as a leading man emerging out of darkhorse status.
Facing some exceedingly windy conditions that made Rolling Hills Golf Course even tougher than usual on Monday, Arapahoe senior Graham Dzengelewski led nearly wire-to-wire on his way to carding a 2-over 73 that ties him with Pine Creek sophomore Wesley Erling for the lead heading into Day 2. The two tied one another for 37th place at last year’s state tournament and certainly weren’t counted among the top contenders when they arrived at the 2020 championships.
(Brad Cochi)
They are now.
“With Will last year, that was a surprise to everybody,” Dzengelewski said. “But I think we all know we all have a chance at it every year, so it’s nice to be able to have that team and have a bunch of guys who come to state ready to go for it.”
Dzengelewski showed up to his final state tournament ready.
The Arapahoe senior started out the day with an eagle on the first hole, a 521-yard par 5. He added two more birdies on the front nine and hit the turn at 3-under. Getting to 3-under quickly turned out to be exactly the cushion he needed to finish the day with a share of the lead, as Dzengelewski picked up three strokes over the final three holes while Erling went 2-under on the back nine.
With Dzengelewski and Erling battling atop the leaderboard, the Arapahoe boys finished Day 1 a single stroke ahead of Valor Christian for the team lead.
“That’s probably the best start I’ve had in a while,” Dzengelewski said. “I think I played the wind pretty well but, ultimately, it comes down to hitting fairways, hitting greens and making putts. I hit a few bad shots but that happens and felt like I put myself in good positions out there so I’ll try to keep doing that tomorrow.”
Behind the Day 1 leaders, Valor Christian senior Lucas Schulte ended his day with a birdie on No. 9 and carded matching 37’s for an overall 74 that tied him with Cherry Creek sophomore Charlie Flaxbeard for third. Sophomore Colin Young, Schulte’s teammate with the Eagles, shot a 75 and will enter Day 2 tied for fifth with Rocky Mountain senior Ty Nelson.
“We started on the back and we had like forty-mile-per-hour winds straight in our face,” Schulte said. “That was tough, so getting off to a good start was important. On No. 8, so my 17th hole, I hit two bad tee shots out on the right. Long story short, I had to take a penalty and then I made a thirty-foot bogey putt. I made a birdie on the last to finish off so I’ll try to carry that over to tomorrow.”
Despite the blustery conditions, 24 golfers shot in the 70’s on Monday. Among them was Kates, who began his title defense with a 77 and is currently in a six-way tie for 10th.
Arvada West sophomore Yusuke Ogi was not among the players who shot in the 70’s, but he might have had the most special day of anyone at Rolling Hills. On the par-3 13th hole, Ogi sank his tee shot from 219 yards out for the second hole in one of his prep career. His first was at regionals last season.
“I was like eight over by the time I got to that hole and I just didn’t feel like I had it,” Ogi said. “The wind was blowing and I don’t know how that happened. I was just in disbelief.”
With Monday’s eventful first round in the books, Colorado’s 5A players will certainly go to bed tonight hoping they wake up to more favorable conditions in which to go for it all on Tuesday.
