5A boys golf: Fossil Ridge, Monarch’s Caleb Michaels take home titles

DENVER – The Fossil Ridge boys golf team watch a big lead disappear rapidly on Tuesday’s second and final day of the 2022 boys golf state championships.
 
But the lead didn’t disappear entirely.
 
Opening the final round with a seven-stroke lead following an outstanding Day 1 during which the Sabercats were collectively 6-under, they held on to win the team title by two strokes over Rock Canyon. It was Fossil Ridge’s second boys golf title overall and second in the last five years.
 
“Obviously, I wish we would have played great golf all day long and doubled up on what we did yesterday,” Fossil Ridge head coach Jamie Menefee said. “But it didn’t happen that way, and we knew we’d face some adversity. We didn’t know it would come in buckets quite so quickly. There was a time where it looked like it was heading so far in the wrong direction that we would be out of it.
 
“But then our freshman Landon Houska makes an eagle and Austin Barry comes back behind him and makes two birdies in a row. Then we were right back in it and we got a couple long, clutch two-putts on 18 to hold off Rock Canyon.”
 
The Sabercats finished with a two-day score of 423. Rock Canyon, which played the tournament with just three players instead of the maximum of four and nearly won its first boys golf championship, scored a 425. Highlands Ranch was third at 427, Pine Creek was fourth at 432, and Eaglecrest and Cherry Creek tied for fifth place with matching 436s.
 
“Credit to Rock Canyon, being here with three players,” Menefee said. “That’s a lot of pressure, even more than we had with four. They did a great job.”
 
The individual competition, which ended in Monarch senior Caleb Michaels claiming the top spot, mirrored the team title race on Tuesday.
 
Fossil Ridge sophomore Austin Barry started the day with a four-stroke lead after carding a 6-under 64 on Day 1. His lead disappeared as rapidly as his team’s did on Day 2 and at several points during Tuesday’s round, there were as many as a dozen golfers within two strokes of the leader.
 
Michaels finished with a 2-under 68 and edged Fort Collins senior Ian Hunn, who began the day in sixth and eagled No. 16 to insert himself into the title chase, for the individual title when Hunn bogeyed No. 18 one group before Michaels came up to the final hole and made par to seal the win.
 
“It feels great,” said Michaels, who tied for 21^st last season. “The last hour out there felt pretty long, putting up with all the stress and having three holes left in my career and I don’t get another chance if I mess it up. It feels great now. This is probably one of the best feelings I’ve had in my entire life.”
 
Michaels finished with a two-day score of 137. Hunn and Barry finished in a tie for runner-up at 138. Houska, Pine Creek senior Wesley Erling, who was runner-up last season, Highlands Ranch senior Aiden Krusoe, who had Tuesday’s best round at 66 along with ThunderRidge senior Ryan Oro, and Boulder senior Luke Blankenship all tied for fourth at 139.

Complete Results