The last time all of the boys state high school golf tournaments were held in the greater Denver metro area in the same year, none of the 2017 state participants had yet started first grade.
That was in 2005 — when there were just two classifications in Colorado boys golf, instead of the current three — and Green Valley Ranch hosted the 5A meet and Wellshire the 4A.
A dozen years later, all three state tournaments next week — Monday and Tuesday specifically — will be based at public courses in the Denver area. The 5A championship will be at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, the 4A at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton, and the 3A at Indian Peaks Golf Course in Lafayette.
Suffice it to say that’s quite a change from last year, when the 5A meet was conducted in Grand Junction, the 4A in Carbondale and the 3A in Aurora.
Here’s a quick look at what to expect from each of next week’s 36-hole state tournaments:
— 5A at CommonGround: Based on how 2017 has gone so far, senior Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest should be the player to beat at CommonGround. The future Colorado State University golfer has won both of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in which he’s competed this year. In national/international events, he advanced to the match play round of 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur and finished 14th at the Boys Junior PGA Championship and ninth individually in the Junior America’s Cup.
Bryant is the top returning player from last year’s 5A state tournament as he placed second to then-senior Kyle Pearson of Highlands Ranch.
In all, five top-10 finishers from last year’s state meet are back: Bryant; Cal McCoy and Drew Anderson of Regis Jesuit (tied for sixth in 2016), Kailer Dundiks of Denver East (ninth) and Josh Caridi of Fossil Ridge (ninth). McCoy has verbally committed to the University of Denver.
All three current high school players who represented Colorado on the Junior America’s Cup team this year — Bryant, McCoy and Dillon Stewart of Fossil Ridge — will compete in the 5A tournament. Also at CommonGround will be Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction, who has verbally committed to the University of Colorado, and Colorado Junior Match Play runner-up Jack Castiglia of Lakewood.
Bryant, Olkowski and McCoy were among those who recently won regional state-qualifying tournaments.
Team-wise, Regis will be seeking its seventh state title in the last eight years after improbably winning by a single stroke each of the last two seasons.
–– 4A at Raccoon Creek: Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon will be back to defend his indvidual title after defeating current DU golfer Jackson Solem in a playoff last year.
Trujillo shot a 5-under-par 65 to win a regional state-qualifying tournament at Elmwood Golf Course in Pueblo.
Discovery Canyon also will be trying to win its second consecutive team title. One of Trujillo’s teammates in that regard is Kaden Ford, who recently became just the fourth Coloradan ever to qualify for the finals of the Drive Chip & Putt Championship.
Joining Trujillo as a top-10 finisher from 2016 who’s returning to state are Darren Edwards of Thompson Valley (fourth last year), Tyler Severin of Roosevelt (sixth), Micah Stangebye of Montrose (seventh) and Caleb Blackburn of Discovery Canyon (10th).
Also in the field are Barrett Jones of Eagle Valley, one of the top players in JGAC tournaments this year, and TJ Shehee of Mead, who qualified for this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur.
— 3A at Indian Peaks: Oliver Jack of Kent Denver, like Trujillo, will be attempting to win his second straight state individual title. If either should prevail again, he would be the fifth two-time Colorado boys state high school champion since 1995. Last year, Jack, who’s verbally committed to CU, won in a playoff over Ivan Richmond of Estes Park, who likewise will return.
In all, 10 of the top 12 finishers from the 2016 3A state tournament will be back. Besides Jack and Richmond, there’s Ethan Tartaglia of Peak to Peak (third last year), Jackson Klutznick of Kent Denver (fourth), Nishant Datta of Peak to Peak (sixth), Ian Thorpe of Peak to Peak (sixth), Liam O’Halloran of The Classical Academy (sixth), Jacob Mason of Jefferson Academy (sixth), Peter Grossenbacher of Eaton (10th) and Billy Howenstein of Dawson School (10th).
Also in the field is Kent Denver’s Mateo Manzanares, a First Tee of Denver member who on Sunday teamed with PGA Tour Champions standout Scott McCarron to place fourth in the pro-junior competition of the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach.
Kent Denver, the 2016 team champion, will be seeking its record 10th boys state high school team title. Eight of its victories have come since 2006.
With three top-six finishers back from last year’s state runner-up school, 2015 state champion Peak to Peak figures to make another run at the title, particularly playing at its home course.
Aspen may also be a contender as it finished 1-2-3-4 in the regional at Devil’s Thumb, posting a team total of 6 under par.
Here are the teams and individuals that won regional state-qualifying tournaments last week:
5A Southern at Colorado Springs CC — Team: Heritage +5; Individual: Canon Olkowski, Grand Junction, and Sam Blackwood, Heritage, 70.
5A Northern at Coal Creek — Team: Regis Jesuit +11; Individual: Cal McCoy, Regis Jesuit, 71.
5A Central at Plum Creek — Team: Fossil Ridge +5; Individual: Davis Bryant, Eaglecrest, and Kieran McMullen, Rock Canyon, 71.
5A Western at Broadlands — Team: Arapahoe +9; Individual: Tommy Packer, Arapahoe, 71.
4A Region 1 at Elmwood — Team: Discovery Canyon +11; Individual: Luke Trujillo, Discovery Canyon, 65.
4A Region 2 at CC of Colorado — Team: Valor Christian +37; Individual: Keaton Hulen, Cheyenne Mountain, 76.
4A Region 3 at Boomerang — Team: Thompson Valley +13; Individual: Wes Weber, Mountain View, and Tyler Severin, Roosevelt, 70.
4A Region 4 at The Bridges — Team: Montrose +3; Individual: Bridger Tenney, Evergreen, and Micah Stangebye, Montrose, 71.
3A Region 1 at East to Links — Team: Kent Denver +1; Individual: Oliver Jack, Kent Denver, 69.
3A Region 2 at CommonGround — Team: Colorado Academy +3; Individual: Christian Agelopoulos, Colorado Academy, and Peter Grossenbacher, Eaton, 69.
3A Region 3 at Estes Park GC — Team: Sterling +11; Individual: Riley Schaefer, Sterling, 70.
3A Region 4 at Devil’s Thumb — Team: Aspen -6; Individual: Carter Hall, Aspen, 69.
For Monday’s state championship tee times, CLICK HERE.
