Considering he was receiving a golf-related award on Sunday evening, Armando Duarte didn’t used to have the most positive attitude about the game.

“Before I started (caddying), I never knew anything about golf,” the 15-year-old sophomore from Regis Jesuit High School said. “I thought golf was the most boring sport ever. Now, I’m back to playing it. I tried out for my high school team. I didn’t make it but I’m still playing. I think it’s a great thing to do. I got all that from caddying.”

And, specifically, from doing so as part of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, which on Sunday celebrated its seventh season with an awards barbecue at CommonGround Golf Course, the CGA-owned facility where the Academy started in 2012.

Over the seven golf seasons since, the Solich Academy has put together some impressive numbers:

— Now with three sites for the program around the state — CommonGround, Meridian Golf Club in Englewood and Lincoln Park/Tiara Rado in Grand Junction — the Academy has produced more than 8,500 caddie loops over the seven years. That includes a record total of more than 1,500 in 2018, with 46 caddies participating. There were 888 loops at CommonGround, 419 at Meridian and 215 in Grand Junction.

— This fall, a record-tying four Solich Academy caddies became Evans Scholars — three at the University of Colorado and one at Northwestern — after being awarded the full tuition and housing scholarship earlier in 2018. All told, 17 Solich kids have earned Evans Scholarships, almost all at CU.

— Then there are the 10 key elements of the “Code of the West”, which are key parts of the “leadership” aspect of the Solich Academy: 1) Live each day with courage; 2) Take pride in your work; 3) Always finish what you start; 4) Do what has to be done; 5) Be tough, but fair; 6) When you make a promise, keep it; 7) Ride for the brand; 8) Talk less and say more; 9) Remember that some things aren’t for sale; 10) Know where to draw the line.

— And on Sunday, at the season-ending awards barbecue at CommonGround, nearly 150 people showed up for the festivities — caddies, their families, and supporters and organizers of the program.

That included one of the two people who lent their name and foundational support to the Solich Academy — brothers George and Geoff (Duffy) Solich. Both caddied themselves as teenagers — at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs — and subsequently were awarded Evans Scholarships at CU. They’ve long been successful Colorado-based oilmen and philanthropists.

“What always stands out to me is the family support these kids have,” Duffy Solich said after Sunday’s festivities. “It’s really cool to see all these people here.”

Indeed, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy continues to blossom. The program promotes the use of caddies by paying their base fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip.

And, as noted earlier, there’s also a hearty leadership aspect to the Academy. Each youngster who participates not only caddies but is required to attend weekly leadership classes and do community-service work each summer.

“I think it’s an amazing program,” said CGA co-president Joe McCleary, who has regularly helped train some of the Solich Academy caddies over the years. “It’s just a great program for the kids. It provides a lot of learning opportunities and I think it’ll make a difference in their lives.

“I’ve said it before: The golf course (at CommonGround) is a laboratory for a variety of programs, and this is one of those perfect programs that fits right into the laboratory.”

And that lab has produced kids like Duarte, who on Sunday was named “Caddie Leader of the Year” at CommonGround for 2018.

“I get discipline out of the program,” he said. “This is pretty much a first job for a teenager like me. It teaches us how it is to have a job.

“Many of my golfers really gave me confidence to open myself up more to new people because I was a really shy person. That was really good for me.”

At all the Colorado courses, the Solich Academy is a flagship program for the CGA, which devotes considerable resources in nurturing and managing it. CGA executive director Ed Mate, like the Soliches, attended CU on an Evans Scholarship. Also playing key roles in the Academy’s success from the assocation are manager of caddie development Emily Olson, director of youth programs Erin Gangloff and director of development Ryan Smith.

The CGA raised almost $40,000 for the Solich Academy this year through two trips that were generously donated by the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon — with one being raffled off and the other being awarded through an auction.

BMW, a presenting partner of the CGA, is also the exclusive partner for the Solich Academy at CommonGround.

Besides CommonGround, Meridian, Lincoln Park and Tiara Rado, courses in southeast Wisconsin and in Oceanside, Calif., have taken the Solich Academy template and used it at their facilities, with tweaks as necessary.

“There’s room for people to take the ball and run with it” regarding expanding the program’s concept, Duffy Solich (left) said.

The normal pattern in the Denver metro area is for Solich caddies to spend two years at CommonGround or Meridian, then graduate to other programs around the area such as those at Cherry Hills Country Club, Denver Country Club, Lakewood Country Club, etc.

“It’s so gratifying to go to these other courses and see caddies who have graduated from here thrive at these other courses,” Duffy Solich noted.

Meridian came on board by establishing a Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy chapter four years ago. And now the Englewood-based club is up to 11 caddies who this year produced 419 loops, a season-high for the course. Paul Lobato, the longtime PGA head professional at Meridian, has shepherded the program at the club, and is trying to take it up a notch or two. Lobato and his team at Meridian spend 10 hours working with the kids before ever sending them out to caddie.

“I think we’re holding the kids to different expectations — that we expect them to get better each time out — to raise the level from being just bag carriers and sherpas to being more of a true caddie,” Lobato said.

Lobato finds it very gratifying to see the results — not only at his course, but for the Solich Academy program in general.

“It seems that caddying is very much back in vogue,” he said. “People are requesting them, people are interested in them. They’re interested in kids not only as caddies but as golfers and students and things like that. It is fun to see the growth of it.

“Caddies only used to be at certain places, but now they’re becoming a lot more common around town. Everybody is kind of getting their foot in the door. We just need to bust the door open and get stronger caddie programs with better caddies and people requesting them more.”

Here are the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy awards that were presented on Sunday:

Caddie Leader of the Year
CommonGround — Armando Duarte
Meridian — Tara Simone
Grand Junction — Chloe Manchester

Congeniality Award
CommonGround — Anthony Montoya-Olivas
Meridian — Kimberly Helfer
 
Rookie of the Year
CommonGround — Lindsi Reyes
Meridian — Antonio Vasquez

Most Improved Caddie
CommonGround — Jaziel Guerrero
Meridian — Aidan McMahon
Grand Junction — Kalea Potter
 
3D Award (Dedication-Determination-Desire)
CommonGround — Simon Seyoum
Meridian — Logan Douglass
 

There’s only one way to cap off an undefeated season, and Davis Bryant found out exactly how.

The Eaglecrest senior, who won every regular-season high school tournament in which he competed this season, then shared the regional title, fittingly finished things off with a victory in his final high school golf meet.

Bryant rallied from one behind going into Tuesday’s final round of the 5A tournament, pulling away on the back nine at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora for a two-stroke victory.

“I’ve been waiting for this for so long, it hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” said Bryant, the 5A runner-up last year. “I’m so excited and so happy that I could finally get the job done.

“This is probably the best (win) of my career because you’re playing against the best kids in the state and all different age levels.”

Also winning state titles on Tuesday were Darren Edwards of Thompson Valley in Class 4A at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton, and a second Davis, Davis Long of Peak to Peak, in the 3A tournament at Indian Peaks Golf Course, where Tuesday marked the only championship round after the course was saturated by rain on Monday. For more on those tournaments, see below.

At the 5A meet, Bryant parred the first 10 holes of Tuesday’s second round before making back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 and parring his last six holes for a bogey-free 2-under-par 69. The future Colorado State University golfer finished at 3-under 139, two better than Fossil Ridge junior Dillon Stewart and three ahead of Grand Junction junior Canon Olkowski. Stewart and Olkowski both closed with 72s on Tuesday.

The three players in the final group — Bryant, Olkowski and first-round leader Stewart — were tied overall after the front nine on Tuesday. But after Olkowski eagled No. 11 from 4 feet and Bryant and Stewart two-putted there for birdie, Bryant made a move with a 25-foot uphill birdie putt on No. 12 that had to travel over a large hump before falling in (pictured above).

“Once I made the birdie putt on 12, that was huge,” he said. “That gave me a little momentum.”

The birdie pushed Bryant into a share of the lead with Stewart (left), the player he beat to win the Colorado Junior PGA title this year. But Stewart three-putted for bogey on No. 13 to fall out of the lead, missed a 7-foot birdie attempt at No. 14, then bogeyed 15 and 16.

Meanwhile, Olkowski had a wild ride in the middle of the round — going birdie, bogey, eagle, bogey, birdie in consecutive holes starting at No. 9 — before likewise losing ground to Bryant late on the back nine.

As for Bryant, he was grinding out six straight pars down the stretch, including with a 7-footer on No. 15 and long two-putts on 14 and 17.

“Once I had a little lead, I wanted to make them to have to chase me with birdies, and I wanted to make as many pars as I could,” he said.

For Bryant, the win adds another chapter to an impressive 2017 season. He’s won both of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in which he’s competed and he’s finished ninth individually at the Junior America’s Cup, 14th at the national Junior PGA and made it to the round of 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

“I’d probably compare it to Jordan Spieth’s 2015 season (in which the PGA Tour player won the first two major championships before placing fourth in the British Open and second in the PGA Championship) a little bit,” Bryant said. “I’ve played so consistently since the beginning of April. The lowest (tournament round) I shot was 65 and the highest was 77. That feels pretty good. I started out strong (with a 65 at Todd Creek in May) and I finished strong.”

On Tuesday, he relied on his experience from the 2016 state tournament and the national events in which he’s competed this year.

“I learned from the experience last year against Kyle (Pearson of Highlands Ranch) and was able to make some of the par putts and grind it out a little better than I did last year,” Bryant said. “It was an awesome last two days.

“I think the summertime helped too — playing in those hard (national and international) tournaments with hard fields. And playing harder golf courses helped as well. Your mistakes are magnified when you play at those golf courses, so if you’re able to miss in the right spots, you give yourself shots at par. All the past experience, I was able to use and put together today. It feels really, really good to get the job done.”

Stewart, one of Bryant’s teammates on the Colorado Junior America’s Cup team this year, certainly wanted the title on Tuesday, but takes some consolation in the fact that he’ll get another crack at it next year.

“It’s obviously disappointing to take second,” he said. “I didn’t really play my best. Davis finished with a 69 today — that’s solid golf that he played and that’s pretty impressive to do that coming from behind.

“But putting myself in that position … and I still have one more year, so if I’m in this position again I can learn from what I did this year and move forward.”

In the 5A team race, Regis Jesuit (left) won for the third straight season, for the seventh time in the last eight years, and for the ninth time overall, tying the record for Colorado boys golf, set last year by Kent Denver.

This year’s Regis players included Cal McCoy, Cameron Kirke, Drew Anderson and Walker Fuller, with all but Fuller being seniors. McCoy has verbally committed to the University of Denver golf team.

“It’s a joy,” Regis coach Craig Rogers said. “I’m really happy, but especially this year because the senior class was about as good as I’ve ever seen. I think they felt a little extra pressure to make sure they didn’t have a letdown their senior year. So I’m a little more relieved because I knew we had the talent, but it’s golf and you never know what’s going to happen and there’s some great teams out here. So to see them complete the journey was really nice.”

With a 16-over-par 442 total, Regis finished seven strokes ahead of Cherry Creek and eight in front of third-place Grand Junction and Arapahoe.

Class 4A at Raccoon Creek: Thompson Valley senior Darren Edwards pulled away in the final round for a three-stroke victory in the individual competition. Edwards shot back-to-back rounds of 73 for a 2-over-par 146 total.

Edwards, who finished fourth at state last year, was 2 over for his first eight holes on Tuesday, but then birdied three of his next four to take control. He finished with three birdies and four bogeys in the final round.

Despite bogeying his final two holes, Barrett Jones of Eagle Valley posted the best score of the tournament, a 1-under-par 71, to tie for second place at 5-over 149. He made four birdies on Tuesday.

Also at 149 was Bridger Tenney of Evergreen, who birdied three of his final eight holes to shoot 74 on Tuesday.

Defending champion Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon finished 16th at 159.

In the team competition, 2016 runner-up Montrose won its second state title, besting Evergreen by six and Valor Christian by nine. The Indians, also champions in 2003, posted a two-day total of 34-over-par 466.

Class 3A at Indian Peaks: With the 3A meet being more of a sprint as an 18-hole tournament, Peak to Peak claimed both the individual and team titles.

Individually, sophomore Davis Long edged defending champion Oliver Jack of Kent Denver and Walker Franklin of Prospect Ridge. Long birdied the 16th and 18th holes — the latter from 15 feet — to shoot 3-under-par 69. He finished the day with six birdies and three bogeys.

Jack, who eagled the par-4 seventh hole after driving the green, was 4 under par through 11 holes, but double bogeyed No. 12 and played his final six holes in even. Franklin bogeyed his final hole — marking his only bogey of the day — for a 70.

But Long’s work for the day wasn’t yet done. He and his Peak to Peak teammates tied defending 3A state champion Kent Denver for top team honors at 1-over-par 217, then went to a playoff to decide a champion. Peak to Peak prevailed, winning its second state title in three years, this one at the Pumas’ home course. Kent Denver had been seeking an unprecedented 10th boys state golf championship.
 

Class 5A Top Finishers
At Par-71 CommonGround GC in Aurora
TEAM
Regis Jesuit 217-225–442
Cherry Creek 221-228–449
Arapahoe 228-222–450
Grand Junction 226-224–450
Denver East 229-228–457
INDIVIDUAL
Davis Bryant, Eaglecrest 70-69–139
Dillon Stewart, Fossil Ridge 69-72–141
Canon Olkowski, Grand Junction 70-72–142
Cal McCoy, Regis Jesuit 70-74–144
Tommy Parker, Arapahoe, 72-72–144
Connor Jones Mountain Range 72-74–146
Freddie Gluck, Boulder 73-73–146
Sam Blackwood, Heritage 71-75–146
Ryder Heuston, Fairview 72-74–146
Supawich (Beam) Boonta, Cherokee Trail 74-72–146

For complete 5A results, CLICK HERE.
 

Class 4A Top Finishers
At Par-72 Raccoon Creek GC in Littleton
TEAM
Montrose 233-233–466
Evergreen 238-234–472
Valor Christian 234-241–475
Palmer Ridge 240-238–478
Thompson Valley 249-237–486
INDIVIDUAL
Darren Edwards, Thompson Valley 73-73–146
Barrett Jones, Eagle Valley 78-71–149
Bridger Tenney, Evergreen 75-74–149
Micah Stangebye, Montrose 76-76–152
Jacob Smith, Rifle 77-75–152
Tyler Severin, Roosevelt 73-79–152
Jake Welch, Valor Christian 73-80–153
Jordan Jennings, Montrose 75-78–153
Wes Weber, Mountain View 77-77–154
Nathan Dwyer, Thompson Valley 79-75–154

For complete 4A results, CLICK HERE.
 

Class 3A Top Finishers
At Par-72 Indian Peaks GC in Lafayette
Note: Day 1 was rained out. Tournament was reduced to 18 holes.
TEAM
Peak to Peak 217 (won playoff)
Kent Denver 217
Aspen 224
Eaton 234
Colorado Academy 236

INDIVIDUAL
Davis Long, Peak to Peak 69
Oliver Jack, Kent Denver 70
Walker Franklin, Prospect Ridge 70
Thomas Messner, Coloradao Academy 73
Ian Thorpe, Peak to Peak 73
Dominic Lanese IV, Aspen 73
Peter Grossenbacher, Eaton 73
Jackson Klutznick, Kent Denver 73
Dawson Holmes, Aspen 73
Cris Rudosky, Montezuma Cortez 73
Billy Howenstein, Dawson 73

For complete 3A results, CLICK HERE.
 

Perhaps the cold, windy, raw first day at the 5A boys state high school tournament brought out the best in the best.

But for whatever reason, the three golfers who represented Colorado on the Junior America’s Cup team this year — and are in still in high school — find themselves at the top of the leaderboard after Monday’s first round of the 36-hole tournament at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

With temperatures in the 40s all day — and the wind making it feel even colder — junior Dillon Stewart (left) of Fossil Ridge took the lead with a 2-under-par 69. And right on his heels going into Tuesday’s final round are Junior America’s Cup teammates Davis Bryant of Eaglecrest and Cal McCoy of Regis Jesuit, along with Canon Olkowski of Grand Junction.

Those were the only players who broke par in challenging weather conditions at CommonGround as Bryant, McCoy and Olkowski posted 1-under 70s.

In the other state tournaments, day 1 of the 3A meet at Indian Peaks Golf Course in Lafayette was canceled due to rain, with the tournament being reduced to an 18-hole event, set for Tuesday. And at the 4A tourney at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton, three players share the lead at 1-over-par 73: Jake Welch of Valor Christian, Darren Edwards of Thompson Valley and Tyler Severin of Roosevelt. For more details on the 4A meet, see below.

At the 5A tournament, with stocking caps and several layers of clothing being commonplace for the players — and heavy jackets and mittens for many spectators — breaking par was no small feat.

“It wasn’t fun, but it was fun, obviously,” Stewart said after grabbing the 18-hole lead. “(The conditions) really tested your mental game. The ball isn’t going very far because it’s so cold. Conditions are hard, it’s windy. It’s not fun, but it really brings the best player out of everybody.

“I’m really proud of myself (for shooting 69). My goal was to be the leader after day 1, and I accomplished that. Hopefully it will continue tomorrow.”

Stewart has had a strong 2017 to date. He led the Rocky Mountain Open — competing against many pros as well as amateurs — after the first day. He finished 35th in the national Boys Junior PGA Championship, 52nd in the IMG Academy Junior Worlds, and was runner-up to Bryant at the Colorado Junior PGA. And Stewart, Bryant, McCoy and current University of Denver golfer Jackson Solem teamed up to finish fourth out of 18 teams in the Junior America’s Cup. During the high school season, Stewart has won four times.

On Monday at CommonGround, the junior finished with four birides and two bogeys on the day to grab the lead.

As good a year as Stewart has had in 2017, Bryant (left) has been even more impressive. The Colorado State University-bound golfer has won both of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in which he’s competed and he’s finished ninth individually at the Junior America’s Cup, 14th at the national Junior PGA and made it to the round of 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

On Monday, Bryant had it to 3 under par through 11 holes, but bogeyed the next two and played the last five in even par.

“It could have been better, but it also could have gotten away from me and been a 75 very easily,” the senior said. “You can definitely shoot yourself out of it but you can’t win it on the first day. I was just trying to make some birdies and make a lot of pars and see how it went after 18 holes.”

Bryant, the 5A runner-up at state last year, has not been beaten in a high school tournament this season, winning six titles outright and tying for a victory in regionals.

“I’ll be disappointed if I don’t win (state), obviously,” he said. “That’s been my goal since I finished second to Kyle (Pearson of Highlands Ranch) last year. But if you’re thinking about that too much, you’re not going to play well, so I just take it one shot at a time and try to be as positive as possible.”

McCoy (left), a senior who will play his college golf at DU, was paired with Stewart on Monday and played his front nine in 3-under 33, but bogeyed 15 and 18 on the way in. McCoy, who finished sixth at state last year, ended up with three birdies and two bogeys on Monday.

Olkowski, a future University of Colorado golfer and the younger brother of current Buff Trevor Olkowski, finished strong to shoot his 70. He was 2 over par through 14 holes, but birdied three of his last four.

In the 5A team race, Regis Jesuit shot a 4-over-par 217 total and grabbed a four-stroke lead over Cherry Creek. Regis is seeking its seventh state title in the last eight years. Fossil Ridge is in third place at 222.

4A at Racoon Creek: Welch, younger brother of 2015 4A runner-up Coby Welch, shares the individual leader with Edwards and Severin after day 1. Welch was 1 under par through 16 holes, but triple bogeyed the par-3 17th and birdied 18 to finish at 73. He ended the day with four birdies, two bogeys and the triple.

Edwards, who placed fourth at state last year, birdied his final hole on Monday to shoot 73 and posted two birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. Severin, sixth at state in 2016, carded two birdies and three bogeys.

Defending individual state champion Luke Trujillo of Discovery Canyon shares fourth place at 75 with Roger Nakagawa of Thomas Jefferson, Jordan Jennings of Montrose and Bridger Tenney of Evergreen.

In the team competition, Montrose, the state runner-up last year, recorded a 17-over-par 233 total and holds a one-stroke lead over perennial power Valor Christian. Evergreen is in third place, five back of Montrose.

Class 5A Leaders
At Par-71 CommonGround GC in Aurora
TEAM
Regis Jesuit 217
Cherry Creek 221
Fossil Ridge 222
ThunderRidge 224
Fairview 226
Grand Junction 226
INDIVIDUAL
Dillon Stewart, Fossil Ridge 69
Davis Bryant, Eaglecrest 70
Cal McCoy, Regis Jesuit 70
Canon Olkowski, Grand Junction 70
Carter Kovarik, Cherry Creek 71
Sam Blackwood, Heritage 71
Evan Kalac, ThunderRidge 71
Brandon Bervig, Liberty 71
Cameron Kirke, Regis Jesuit 71
Tommy Parker, Arapahoe, 72
Connor Jones Mountain Range 72
Ryder Heuston, Fairview 72

For complete 5A results, CLICK HERE.
 

Class 4A Leaders
At Par-72 Raccoon Creek GC in Littleton
TEAM
Montrose 233
Valor Christian 234
Evergreen 238
Palmer Ridge 240
Mullen 242

INDIVIDUAL
Tyler Severin, Roosevelt 73
Darren Edwards, Thompson Valley 73
Jake Welch, Valor Christian 73
Jordan Jennings, Montrose 75
Roger Nakagawa, Thomas Jefferson 75
Bridger Tenney, Evergreen 75
Luke Trujillo, Discovery Canyon 75
Micah Stangebye, Montrose 76
Jacob Smith, Rifle 77
Wes Weber, Mountain View 77

For complete 4A results, CLICK HERE.
 

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.

Elena King of Centennial and Patti Marquis of Evergreen were among those selected for the honor out of more than 1,700 LPGA-certified professionals around the world. This is the first awarding of what is expected to be annual honors.

King teaches out of CGA-owned and operated CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora as well as Meridian Golf Club. Marquis is an instructor who works out of Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden in the summer and Primm (Nev.) Golf Club in the fall and winter.

An independent golf industry selection committee picked this year’s LPGA teacher award winners after reviewing eligible applications.

“The LPGA is excited to partner with Women’s Golf Journal on this annual recognition,” LPGA chief teaching officer, Nancy Henderson, said in a press release. “More than 70 percent of our members teach the game of golf for a living and they are dedicated to the advancement of golf through teaching golfers of all ages and abilities to enjoy the game of golf.”

For the entire list of Top 50 LPGA teachers, CLICK HERE.

Not surprisingly, more than 95 percent of those loops came from either private clubs or resorts, with caddie-friendly Cherry Hills alone accounting for almost 30 percent of the state’s total.

On the other hand, a notable number of public courses in the state feature some sort of organized caddie program, though almost all of them are very modest in size.

And this year, that number will increase as the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy starts a small pilot program in Grand Junction at Lincoln Park and Tiara Rado (READ MORE), both municipal courses.

Among the other Colorado public courses that have caddies available through a formal program are CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver, and five City of Denver courses: City Park, Willis Case, Wellshire, Kennedy and Overland.

In the case of CommonGround and the Grand Junction courses, the caddie programs are part of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, which also has a chapter at the private Meridian Golf Club. As for the City of Denver facilities and GVR, they’re linked with The First Tee chapters of Denver and GVR.

Suffice it to say caddie programs in Colorado are by no means limited to private and resort courses.

“You’ve got to build the demand for (caddies) at a public course,” said Kevin Laura, the president of GVR who attended the University of Colorado on an Evans Scholarship for caddies. “Public golfers don’t expect to take a caddie, but we (at GVR) have 40 percent walkers.”

Laura said GVR caddies accumulated a total of about 125 loops in 2016, with roughly half of them coming through the three CoBank Colorado Open championships held at the club — the Open, Women’s Open and Senior Open.

Of course, CommonGround Golf Course has proven to be the gold standard for caddie programs at Colorado public courses. Thanks to being the original home of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy — which promotes the use of caddies by paying the base caddie fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip — CommonGround was the site of 1,108 caddie loops in 2016. To put that number into perspective, less than 10 private clubs produced more caddie loops.

“Admittedly it’s a subsidized program so we’re trying to create a culture or an awareness that wouldn’t otherwise exist,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who’s also a CU Evans Scholar alum. “We know the economics of a caddie program at a public facility just don’t mesh. That’s the most important underpinning of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy: it is subsidized. I think we need to be very sensitive to any unintended consequences of making subsidized caddie programs the norm. I don’t think that should be. Ultimately, we want these independent contractors working for the players. But if we can use the subsidies smartly to kind of fill that pipeline …

“Our intention with that (Solich) program is to generate applicants for the Evans Scholarship. That’s a separate and distinct goal from having healthy caddie programs. Most people in that (Caddie Summit) room recognize the value that our society can benefit from by having kids that are hard-working and that have the ability to communicate — and not (just) on a phone or an app or whatever.”

The Solich Academy, named for philanthropists and ES alums George and Duffy Solich (the latter being the Western Golf Association’s state chairman), isn’t just a caddie program. A major component of the Academy is that all of the caddies are required to attend weekly leadership classes and do volunteer community-service work each summer. And, as Mate noted, the hope is that some of the participants will become good candidates for the Evans Scholarship at CU.

Laura, a former CGA president, certainly has seen how successful the Solich program has been. And he hopes GVR can offer something similar.

“We’ve applied for a grant through the Colorado Golf Foundation about doing what they do at CommonGround — saying ‘Take a caddie, we’ll pay for it,'” Laura said. “The kids really want to loop more. They just don’t have the demand and it’s really frustrating. But if we had all six or eight of our kids waiting to get out and our golf shop was actively trying to push it, they would come four to five days a week if the players are going to take the kid because the base rate is covered.

“Those kind of ways to create demand by eliminating the cost factors, that can work at a public, private, resort — any of those courses. We’re hoping to be able to do that with some financial support. We can double and triple our number of loops if we just have that hurdle (eliminated). That’s why CommonGround is so great because you know you can get a caddie and just pay a tip. A $20 or $30 tip is well worth it, but if someone is looking at a $50 or $60 fee on top of their $50 or $60 public green fee, that’s where a decision is made and most of the time it’s against taking a caddie.”

The Colorado Golf Foundation, by the way, was founded with a $2 million gift from George and Carol Solich.

“We’re trying to get our sea legs around the foundation, but we’re very much open to (Laura’s idea regarding GVR),” Mate said. “I love the (idea of a potential) partnership with The First Tee because they already have kids who know golf. They’re looking for programming for kids who get to be 13-14 years old; that’s when they kind of fizzle out with The First Tee. And I think they lose them because they have to start earning money. So what a great segue — from knowing the game and having the base knowledge (to caddying regularly). I’d love to have a lot of First Tee kids in our program. That would be awesome.

“That’s one other thing that’s being discussed: How can we scale the Solich program nationwide? We’re not saying that; the World Golf Foundation has started a discussion around this. Is there some place for a nationally-supported caddie initiative? The fact that that conversation is going on is encouraging for sure.”

Strong Showing for Caddie Summit: More than 50 people attended last week’s Caddie Summit, presented by the CGA. That included representatives of 18 courses/clubs in Colorado that feature a caddie program.

The Summit is held annually to discuss various issues regarding caddies, including best practices; to release results of the survey of caddie clubs; and give updates on caddie-related programs in the state. That includes the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy and the full-tuition and housing Evans Scholarship.

This time around, there was also a caddie club profile, with head professional Bryan Heim discussing the situation at Columbine Country Club, where a once-thriving program largely went away for a while but has been brought back, to the point that now it features 40-50 caddies accumulating about 1,300 total loops annually.

Also, there was a talk by Boulder-based Evans Scholar alum Jeremy Stroiman, the CEO of a company he and his twin brother Jason run that was named after the scholarship: Evans Senior Investments, which deals with senior housing and skilled nursing solutions.

Heim, for one, always gets a few useful tidbits out of the Caddie Summit.

“If nothing else it gives you a check and balance — some new ideas to say, ‘Hey listen, have we thought about that or that’s maybe a better way of doing something’,” Heim said. “It gets your wheels turning a little bit just to make sure we’ve got that down or we’re doing this.”

Each clubs which sends multiple participants to the Summit receives a $500 grant for its caddie program from the Colorado Golf Foundation.

“I thought it was our best one yet,” Mate said of the 2017 Caddie Summit. “The attendance was great. We didn’t stretch the agenda. Like they say about a vacation, it’s always better when you wanted to stay a little longer. I felt like that best practices discussion could have gone on longer. But I filled up my notepad of notes and I hope everybody else did too.

“There was some inspiration in this one that we haven’t had in the past, with Jeremy (Stroiman). Janene Guzowski (a new CGA board member who chairs the caddie committee) has brought some great new energy. It’s great to have more voices and not just have a few of us drone on. I thought it was very successful.”
 

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy should be in full blush as it embarks on its sixth season.

These days, the Academy is not only thriving at the course at which it started — the CGA-owned and operated CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora — but its ideas are taking root both statewide and in a few locations elsewhere.

Currently, the seeds are being planted on the Western Slope, at Lincoln Park and Tiara Rado Golf Courses, where the city of Grand Junction recently agreed to host a Solich pilot program, starting this year.

CGA executive director Ed Mate said the plan is for four youngsters to caddie at the two Grand Junction municipal courses this golf season, and to participate in the accompanying Cowboy Ethics leadership program and to do volunteer work.

“We got great response from the city,” Mate said. “They’re totally on board. They want to support it. They feel it will be a real opportunity for a few kids. It’s exciting to be able to take our flagship program to that part of the state.”

Founded in 2012, the Academy — named for former caddies and current oilmen and philanthropists George and Duffy Solich (pictured below) — creates opportunities for boys and girls to build leadership skills and develop character through caddying and Academy programming. George Solich originally suggested the idea after reading a magazine article about a caddie camp in Nantucket, Mass.

The Solich Academy promotes the use of caddies by paying the base caddie fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip. In addition to the caddying, a major component of the Academy is that all of the caddies are required to attend weekly leadership classes and do volunteer community-service work each summer. Ideally, some of the participants will become good candidates for the Evans Scholarship for caddies at the University of Colorado.

Frank Wilkinson, a longtime Grand Junction resident and a member of the volunteer CGA Board of Governors since 2009, has spearheaded the effort to bring a Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy chapter to western Colorado. He’s seen how the Solich Academy has thrived at CommonGround and, over the last couple of years, at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood, and believes a scaled-down version will be ideal for his hometown.

Between the two existing Solich Academy sites, CommonGround (almost 1,100) and Meridian (about 330) produced more than 1,400 caddie loops for participating youngsters in 2016. Over the past five years, CommonGround and Meridian have generated almost 5,400 loops, with CommonGround on its own racking up almost 4,800. And 13 Solich caddies have gone on to earn full-tuition and housing Evans Scholarships at CU.

Based on the program’s goal of getting each caddie 30 loops or more each summer, the hope is to produce 120 loops or so in 2017 at the Solich Academy pilot program in Grand Junction.

“I’ve heard awesome, awesome stories about the kids who have participated in the program at CommonGround” from fellow CGA Governors and the association staff, Wilkinson said this week. “We anticipate we’re going to be successful. (If so), it can become a template for what can be done in other places around the state” — particularly at public courses that might be interested in small-scale programs.

Among Grand Junction residents, besides Wilkinson, who have helped the Solich Academy become a reality at Lincoln Park and Tiara Rado are a variety of amateurs, PGA professionals and city employees: Rob Schoeber, director of Grand Junction Parks & Rec; Mike Mendelson, the head professional overseeing the two courses; Doug Jones, golf superintendent of GJ Parks & Rec; Rick Ott, men’s club president at Lincoln Park; and Dan Sommers, instructor at Lincoln Park.

“We’re going to need all these guys to continue to provide input to make this a success,” Wilkinson said.

Mate and Wilkinson made a recent presentation to Grand Junction officials that cemented the deal to bring the Solich Academy to the Western Slope.

“As the meeting developed it was interesting to see how they became engaged in the idea and starting seeing the benefits,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson, who calls Lincoln Park his home course, is a member of the men’s club at both Tiara Rado and Lincoln Park.

“Frank Wilkinson couldn’t be more passionate about kids and caddying,” Mate said. “He’s been lobbying for this for several years.”

Men’s club and women’s club events on weekdays at the two courses figure to create caddie loops, along with weekend events. Solich Academy advocates plan to engage such groups — via email blasts and the like — to make it known that caddies are available, and those advocates will also be the ones to coordinate arragements for specific loops.

“There’s going to be a learning curve for the players,” Wilkinson said. “Like myself, I haven’t taken a caddie very often. But both of these golf courses, the terrain is very amenable for this. They’re not very hilly.”

While Grand Junction will be the third active Solich Academy chapter in Colorado — Fort Collins Country Club at one point also featured Solich caddies — there are also several programs in other states that saw what was being done in Colorado and tried to create something similar, according to Mate.

That includes the Caddie & Leadership Academy of Southeast Wisconsin, launched by Phil Poletti, a Western Golf Association director who Mate calls “kind of the pied piper of caddie and leadership academies”; Goat Hill Park golf course in Oceanwide, Calif., started by John Ashworth of golf clothing fame; and the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Of those, the Wisconsin program most closely mirrors the Solich Academy model, down to the Cowboy Ethics leadership training. The Northern California Golf Association Youth on Course Caddie Academy also includes subsidized used of caddies, but no leadership training element.

“It’s a really good model,” George Solich said of the Solich Academy in September. “The goal is to have it at a lot of different places across the country that can benefit kids and give them an opportunity.

“We have some good momentum. It would be great to see it thrive (further). The Evans Scholars Foundation is moving this way too. They have a (WGA Caddie Academy) for girls in Chicago. John (Kaczkowski, president and CEO of the WGA) and I have talked (about) how does all this kind of fit together. I think the idea is, finding more kids you can give the opportunity to.”

Added Mate: “There are some organic things happening out there, which is great. We’re not saying our model has to be used.”

Whatever the case, the caddie academy idea is certainly gaining traction. And the Grand Junction pilot program is but the latest example, albeit a small one.

“This program is all about quality vs. quantity and about having the supply and the demand meet,” Mate said. “We don’t want to have 40 kids when there’s demand for four. But if there’s demand for 10 kids, we want to meet that demand. We’ll play that by ear. Knowing it’s a special person who takes a caddie, are there enough of those people out there to generate 120 loops for these four kids? If we achieve (that number), we’ve done well.”
 

The tournament runs Friday through Sunday (Sept. 16-18) and will be televised by the Golf Channel from 4-7 p.m. each day.

Rundiks (pictured) is a member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course and the Denver East High School golf team. Rundiks, a junior at East, finished 31st last year in the 5A state high school tournament.

Stadler, who was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame earlier this year, counts the 1982 Masters among his 13 PGA Tour victories. Last year at the First Tee Open, Stadler teamed up with another then-Denver East golfer, Brock Dowdy.

Rundiks is one of 81 First Tee members who will compete in the pro-junior portion of the First Tee Open with Champions professionals. The golfers will play one round each at Pebble Beach and Poppy Hills Friday and Saturday before playing at Pebble Beach on Sunday if they make the cut.

(Sept. 17 Update) Rundiks and Stadler missed the 36-hole cut in the pro-junior after posting rounds of 70-74 for a 144 total.

Former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo won the Champions title at Pebble Beach last year.

Besides Stadler and Toledo, players with strong Colorado ties competing in the Champions field include Hale Irwin, Gary Hallberg and Brandt Jobe.
 

Jordan Jennings came a long way to compete in the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 11-13 Junior Series Championship — from Montrose, to be precise — but he made the trip well worth it.

The 13-year-old eighth-grader (left) not only won the boys tournament Sunday at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, but in doing so he became the first two-time champion — boy or girl — in the history of the 11-13 Junior Series Championship.

“It feels good to defend my title and become (the first) kid in Colorado to do it,” Jennings said. “This was one of the big tournaments I was aiming for.”

Meanwhile, Sofia Choi of Littleton claimed the girls title with a five-shot cushion at CommonGround.

Jennings closed with a 3-under-par 68 Sunday, leaving him in a tie at 3-under 139 with first-round leader Ryan Sangchompuphen (left) of Denver, a member of the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program at CommonGround.

In the playoff — at the 10th hole at CommonGround — both players hit excellent approach shots on the par-4. But after Sangchompuphen’s 9-foot birdie attempt skirted the right side of the cup, Jennings tapped in his birdie from a mere 2 feet to repeat as champion.

Including the playoff, Jennings birdied four of his last five holes on Sunday — and six overall for the day. Down the stretch, he sank birdie putts of 12 feet, 20 feet, a tap-in, and 2 feet.

“I told my dad with four holes left, ‘I’m going to make four birdies in the last four holes (of regulation).’ I came up a little short,” he said with a smile.

For Jennings, Sunday marked another highlight of a memorable summer. In late July, he finished third out of a field of 88 in the boys 12-13 division for the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He hopes to add another highlight next month when he competes against older players in the final JGAC major of the year, the Junior Tour Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club.

Sangchompuphen, who had shot a 6-under-par 29 on the back nine Saturday, dropped into a playoff with Jennings after posting a 38 on that same nine on Sunday. He had been 7 under par overall through 29 holes, but gave back four strokes on the three-hole stretch from 12 through 14 Sunday.

Jeffrey Zhou of Greenwood Village finished third among the 18 boys with a 140 total. Traejan Andrews of Windsor was fourth at 142.

In the girls tournament, Choi, 12, went wire-to-wire for the victory. She matched the best round of the tournament by firing a 4-over-par 75 on Sunday, giving her a 12-over-par 154 total. She highlighted the second round with birdies on two par-3s.

Choi (left), who finished 23rd in her age group at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina last month, called Sunday’s win the biggest of her young career. Still, she took her success all in stride.

“It’s really fun, but it’s like any other tournament,” she said of the Junior Series Championship. “I was hitting it really, really good today.”

The victory was the seventh-grader’s fifth of the year in JGAC’s tournaments.

Katelyn Lehigh of Loveland took second place at 159 after also carding a 75 on Sunday, making four birdies in the process. Anju Ogi of Arvada placed third in the 10-player field with a 162 total after shooting a second-round 79.
 

Pevny, McClain Victorious in 14-18 Tourneys: The 14-18 Junior Series Championship also concluded on Sunday, with Jack Pevny of Aspen and Natasha Brandy McClain of Castle Pines claiming the boys and girls titles, respectively, at Pelican Lakes in Windsor.

Pevny prevailed out of an eight-player field by shooting back-to-back rounds of 76, giving him an 8-over-par 152 total. He made 15 pars, two bogeys and a double bogey on No. 18 Sunday.

Ben Carrington of Littleton placed second, four behind Pevny, after closing with a 75 Sunday that featured three birdies.

The girls 14-18 tournament came down to a playoff, with McClain overcoming first-round leader Jessica Zapf of Windsor for the top spot.

McClain closed with a 78, while Zapf had an 80, leaving both at 13-over-par 157.

Aili Bundy of Fort Collins missed the playoff by two strokes after playing the last three holes in 4 over par. She finished third at 159 after posting the best score of the tournament, a second-round 76.

In the 10 & Under Junior Series Championship, held last month in Boulder, Andre Dumonteil of Centennial and Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch won the boys and girls titles, respectively.

JGAC Junior Series Championships

* — indicates won playoff
11-13 Boys (At CommonGround GC in Aurora)
1. *Jordan Jennings, Montrose, CO, 71-68-139 -3
2. Ryan Sangchompuphen, Denver, CO, 66-73-139 -3
3. Jeffrey Zhou, Greenwood Village, CO, 67-73-140 -2
4. Traejan Andrews, Windsor, CO, 73-69-142 E
5. Gage Messingham, Arvada, CO, 68-75-143 +1
6. Nicholas Pevny, Aspen, CO, 74-75-149 +7
7. Luke Wright, Littleton, CO, 76-75-151 +9
8. James Clark, Lamar, CO, 75-78-153 +11
9. Jeffrey Nelson II, New Castle, CO, 82-75-157 +15
10. Tyler Tyson, Arvada, CO, 80-78-158 +16
11. Thomas (TJ) Hicks, Greenwood Village, CO, 81-78-159 +17
12. Mario Dino, Denver, CO 81-79-160 +18
13. Jake Chesler, Firestone, CO, 82-79-161 +19
T14. Zaden Gomez, Westminster, CO, 89-76-165 +23
T14. Yusuke Ogi, Arvada, CO, 85-80-165 +23
16. Zachary Tyson, Arvada, CO, 87-81-168 +26
17. Alex Chitkoksoong, Aurora, CO, 83-87-170 +28
18. Jackson Rottschafer, Centennial, CO, 91-85-176 +34

11-13 Girls (At CommonGround GC in Aurora)
1. Sofia Choi, Littleton, CO, 79-75-154 +12
2. Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland, CO, 84-75-159 +17
3. Anju Ogi, Arvada, CO, 83-79-162 +20
4. Eva Pett, Denver, CO, 88-78-166 +24
5. Merielle Gojo, Cherry Hills Village, CO, 82-87-169 +27
6. Kaylee Chen, Highlands Ranch, CO, 85-89-174 +32
7. Alyssa Chin, Greenwood Village, CO, 87-90-177 +35
8. Abigail Aeschleman, Highlands Ranch,CO 99-98-197 +55
WD. Zoey Rodriguez, Pueblo, CO
WD. Gisella Lagrimas, Castle Rock, CO

14-18 Boys (At Pelican Lakes GC in Windsor)
1. Jack Pevny, Aspen, CO, 76-76-152 +8
2. Ben Carrington, Littleton, CO, 81-75-156 +12
3. Travis Menke Jr., Denver, CO, 84-80-164 +20
T4. Riley Rottschafer, Centennial, CO, 93-82-175 +31
T4. Beam Boonta, Centennial, CO, 84-91-175 +31
WD. Hayden Wehe, Alamosa, CO
JWD. Jacob Mason, Westminster, CO
JWD. Colter Zwieg, Aspen, CO
 
14-18 Girls (At Pelican Lakes GC in Windsor)
1. *Natasha Brandy McClain, Castle Pines, CO, 79-78-157 +13
2. Jessica Zapf, Windsor, CO, 77-80-157 +13
3. Aili Bundy, Fort Collins, CO, 83-76-159 +15
4. Caitlin O’Donnell, Centennial, CO, 85-85-170 +26
5. Katherine Malcolm, Parker, CO, 102-85-187 +43
6. Amanda Westrick, Northglenn, CO, 93-98-191 +47