For the second Thursday in a row, several Colorado high school boys golfers managed to get to their respective clubhouses after playing rounds under par.
Brighton’s Kyle Leydon had the best day of any of them as he helped Brighton claim the EMAC North tournament at Thorncreek. His 6-under-par 66 was the best round of the day throughout the entire state.
He made quick work of the front 9, getting out in just 30 shots thanks in big part to a 5-hole birdie streak starting on the par-5 third hole. His momentum cooled after the turn as he match his three birdies on the back 9 with three bogeys. Nonetheless, his 66 was 17 shots better than Prairie View’s Keagan Bond who finished second.
Pine Creek sophomore Wesley Erling took advantage of his him course and putted well despite the greens being recently aerated. He made back-to-back bogeys on No. 2 and No. 3 before getting both those strokes back with an eagle and the par-5 fourth.
He was comfortably at 4-under on the back but made bogey on three of his final four holes to win the Pine Creek Invite with a 71.
Windsor’s Brentyn Paiz had an adventurous route to his 71. He made a bogey on his second hole (No. 12) at Pelican Lakes but quickly moved under par with an eagle on 15. He made bogeys on 3 and 9 but still got through the stretch at even par thanks a birdie on No. 5.
He was even heading into 10, his 18th hole of the day, but finished his round off with a birdie to become the only player at the tournament to shoot a red number.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Liberty’s Hayden Woelk knew he he needed to make par on the home hole to give himself a chance. A fortunate bounce off his tee shot put him 152 yards out from the 18th pin at the Colorado Springs Country Club.
Ever so smoothly, he drew back his 8-iron and flushed it, sending his ball on a path directly toward the flagstick. It hit about 10 feet and he would two-putt to finish with a 1-under-par 70 to claim medalist honors at the Doherty Spartan Invite.
He would’ve like to make his birdie putt, but it was his approach shot that all but guaranteed his victory. He knew it when the ball was in the air and let loose a saucy club twirl, the golfer’s language meaning the ball is Lansing at or near the intended target. It was so good that new Liberty coach Tom Carricato smiled and told Woelk “you hit a shot like that, you can spin the club however you want.”
The junior hit 13 of 14 fairways through the day, including a bomb of a drive off the seventh tee. He rarely got himself into trouble and he worked his way around the track more efficiently than any other golfer in attendance.
“I knew I was hitting the ball well enough enough to play well today,” he said. “I struggled on No. 8 a bit and made double, but I was putting well and I knew I was hitting well to score a good round today.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)The Spartan Invite was the first golf tournament for a lot of Colorado Springs metro area schools. With a bit of an adjustment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teammates were grouped together as opposed to being spread out and paired with players from other teams who perhaps had similar skill sets.
“It’s hard and it’s kind of hard to focus,” St. Mary’s senior Peter Stinar said. “You’re around all your buddies and it’s definitely different. It doesn’t feel like a tournament as much as it does just playing a round with your friends.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise if teammates were paired regularly throughout the course of the season, but that will not be the case at regionals or state.
The trick for the kids is having to adjust to playing with the same guys that they practice with in some tournaments while playing in a more traditional format in others. The team groupings worked well for Cheyenne Mountain, who shot 222 as a team to claim the team championship at the event for the second year around.
“This group is close,” Cheyenne Mountain coach John Carricato said. “They’re a tight group, they compete with each other and they also do it in the right way where they encourage and they’re their No. 1 cheerleaders. From a coaching perspective, I loved seeing that camaraderie.”
Pine Creek sophomore Wesley Erling had a bit of an up and down day but put together a round of 71 to be one of two players at even or better. He erased a double-bogey on No. 3 with back-to-back birdies on eight and nine. His lone birdie on the back nine came on the par-5 15th, but he followed it up with a bogey on 16.
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Durango’s Tichi overcomes slow start to claim Wildcat Invitational
According to Durango junior Levi Tichi, opening his round with a bogey is his signature move. Oddly, it makes him feel more comfortable.
Just for good measure at the Fruita Monument Wildcat Invitational he opted for two bogeys in the first three holes.
Then he got serious. He went five under over his next six holes at Adobe Creek National Golf Course, including an eagle on the par-5 fifth. He finished the day with a 67 to get a big win in the young boys golf season.
“I knew I had to be pretty patient and wait for birdies and not push too much,” he said. “I made that birdie on four and hit my approach to like three feet. I followed that up with an eagle and I chipped it in. That chip-in was when I knew I was starting to play well.”
Tichi was the only Demon under par and the team finished second overall to Montrose, the three-time defending state champions. Grand Junction senior Carson Kerr (71) was the only other individual to play the Wildcat Invitational under par.
The 2019-20 all-state and all-conference hockey teams are a joint project between the Colorado High School Ice Hockey Coaches Association and CHSAANow.com.
These teams were created following a meeting of coaches.
ARVADA — Ralston Valley junior Sydney Bevington was a bit of a decoy early on Friday night in the Class 5A girls basketball second-round state tournament game.
No. 39-seeded Pine Creek had seen Bevington and No. 7 Mustangs earlier in the season. Knowing what one of the top juniors in the state — who is averaging a double-double in scoring and rebounds — is capable of the Eagles’ defense was clearly focused on shutting Bevington down.
Ralston Valley junior Sydney Bevington (33) goes up strong during the Mustangs’ second-round state playoff victory over Pine Creek on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“My shot wasn’t really on necessarily,” Bevington said after the Mustangs advanced to the Sweet 16 with a convincing 56-28 victory over Pine Creek. “Everyone else was making a lot of 3-pointers.”
Bevington went scoreless in the first quarter. However, juniors Rachel Meeks and McKenna Nichols, along with senior Ellie Schweiker each knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening quarter to help the Mustangs get out to a 16-6 lead.
“If you do that she (Bevington) will find the open person,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said of the first quarter with the Eagles focusing on Bevington. “And we need those kids to hit those shots for us to go further.”
Bevington did get going herself offensively. The junior poured in 11 of her game-high 16 points in the second quarter as Ralston Valley opened up a 36-12 lead by halftime.
Sophomore Saya Sabus contributed 12 points and Schweiker finished with 11 points as the Mustangs put it on cruise control in the second half. The defense stayed strong, limiting Pine Creek to single digits in all but the Eagles’ 10-point fourth quarter.
Pine Creek senior Haley Murdock finished off her prep career scoring a team-high eight points for the Eagles (10-15 record).
Ralston Valley senior Ellie Schweiker (4) goes up strong against Pine Creek senior Haley Murdock during the first quarter Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“In practice a lot we focus on hard work on defense and playing hard,” Schweiker said. “If you have the right mentality the steals will come and shots will comes. It’s about playing hard on that side of the court.”
A hard non-league schedule is something Ralston Valley (19-5) hopes will benefit the Mustangs as they get deeper into the postseason. Four of Ralston Valley’s five losses this season came against the top four seeds — Valor Christian, Cherry Creek, Regis Jesuit and Grandview — in the 5A state tournament.
“I think it really prepared us,” Bevington said of playing the likes of Grandview and Cherry Creek. “They are just a different style of play then what we see in Jeffco. Playing that higher competition increases our speed of the game. That is why Gomer does it. To get us really for playoffs.”
Ralston Valley now gets ready to host a familiar foe in the next round on Tuesday night. Jeffco rival and No. 23 Columbine (15-10) went on the road against No. 10 Fountain-Fort Carson on Friday night. The Rebels won 51-39 in overtime.
“I would be excited to see Columbine again,” Bevington said before the Rebels pulled off the upset against Fountain-Fort Carson. “Their coach always makes adjustments, but we always seem to pull out the win.”
The Mustangs went 2-0 against the Rebels this season. However, both games were fairly close contests.
“They gave us two games,” Gomer said when asked about possibility of facing Columbine again. “We’ve just got to play well. If we play well we’ll move on. I don’t like playing someone three times, but it is what it is.”
Ralston Valley junior McKenna Nichols (12) soars toward the basket with Pine Creek senior Haley Murdock (55) and Madelyn Blazo (5) guard her Friday night. The Mustangs’ 56-28 victory advanced Ralston Valley into the Sweet 16 where it will host Jeffco rival Columbine on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
