5A Boys Golf Regionals Round Up: Regional Champions Crowned

Individual region recaps and results:
Southern  \  Central  \  Northern  \  Western

AURORA – The four 5A boys golf regional championships were determined Wednesday and Thursday with Cherry Creek (Southern), Cherokee Trail (Central), Fossil Ridge (Northern) and Regis Jesuit (Western) claiming regional championships and an automatic berth into the upcoming state championship.

The 5A Boys Golf State Championship will be held on Oct. 2-3 at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins.
    

Southern Region

ARVADA (Sept. 21) – Eaglecrest sophomore Gregory White needed a 4-under 66 to win a red-hot individual battle at the 5A Boys Southern Regional Championship at Indian Tree Golf Club in Arvada on Thursday, as eight golfers finished at par-or-better and within four strokes of each other.
 
Highlands Ranch sophomore Billy Verstraate finished runner-up with a 3-under 67, while Cherry Creek juniors Henry Starr and Wyatt Isgrig tied for third at 2-under 68. ThunderRidge senior Kyle Bubier was fifth, holding a one-stroke lead over a three-way tie for sixth, as he signed for a 1-under 69.
 
In sixth place was Denver East’s sophomore Elijah Johnson and Kyle Shaw, in addition to Highlands Ranch senior Tanner Strickler. Denver East freshman Murphy Rowen took ninth with a 2-over 72 and ThunderRidge sophomore Austin Hunt and Cherry Creek senior Pratham Parmar tied for 10th at 3-over 73.
 
Cherry Creek won the team title with a 1-under 209 to claim an automatic bid to the 5A Boys Golf State Championship. Denver East and Highlands Ranch finished tied for second, at 2-over 212, while ThunderRidge (218, 4th) and Eaglecrest (223, 5th) rounded out the top five.

Central Region

HIGHLANDS RANCH (Sept. 20) – Led by sophomore Brayden Forte, who claimed medalist honors at the 5A Boys Central Regional Championship, Cherokee Trail had three golfers finish under par on the day, as the Cougars won the regional at the University of Denver Golf Club at Highlands Ranch.
 
Rock Canyon also finished under par on the day, with Cherokee Trail turning in a winning score of 5-under 211 and the Jaguars finishing runner-up at 2-under 214. Both teams clinched spots in the state championships. 
 
Forte had a tough start to the day, as he sat at 2-over through two holes. He was able to pull to even with a birdie on holes 9 and 10, though, before three birdies on the final four holes propelled him to the top spot on the leaderboard with a 3-under 69.
 
Castle View sophomore Gavin Amella and Rock Canyon senior Nathan Kim tied for second with a 2-under 70, while Cherokee Trail junior Christopher O’Donnell and sophomore Dalton Sisneros finished in a three-way tie for fourth with Rock Canyon senior Charlie Tucker. The trio all signed for a 1-under 71.
 
Rock Canyon seniors Trey Kahrhoff and Mason Conrad took seventh and eighth, respectively, to give the Jaguars four of the top eight finishers. Kahrhoff turned in a 1-over 73, while Conrad was at 2-over 72.
 
A three-way tie for ninth between Columbine sophomore Drew Dawson, Poudre sophomore Max Riley and Legacy junior Luke Tourault rounded out the top 10, as they all finished with a 4-over 76.

Among the teams, Castle View finished third at 15-over 231, while Columbine and Legacy tied for fourth at 21-over 237.
 

   

Northern Region

THORNTON (Sept. 21) – Chatfield junior Jesse Hand fired off a 4-under 68 to win the 5A Boys Golf Northern Regional at Todd Creek Golf Club on Thursday, while Heritage junior Sebastian Hein finished runner-up at 1-under 71.
 
Sophomore Landon Houska and junior Austin Barry led Fossil Ridge to the team title and an automatic berth into the upcoming state championship, with Houska finishing third at 1-over 73 and Barry tying for fourth with Legend senior Spencer Schlagel at 2-over 74.
 
Arapahoe sophomore Mac Buckley finished sixth with a 3-over 75, and Fossil Ridge’s third scorer, junior Cole Rodgers, checked in a seventh with a 76.
 
A five-way tie for eighth rounded out the top-10 with Pine Creek junior Luke Wright, Brighton senior Coby Puzio, Fossil Ridge junior Kaden Devenport, Horizon sophomore Cooper (Moose) Brennan and Legend sophomore Jake Dost each turning in a 77.
 
Chatfield finished runner-up in the team race, and one stroke ahead of Heritage (229-230), to claim the second automatic qualifier to the state championship. Legend narrowly claimed fourth with a 233, while Arapahoe rounded out the top five at 234.
 

Western Region

BOULDER (Sept. 21) – Both of the top two individual finishers, Anthony Lore and Sam Walker, finished under par at the 5A Boys Western Regional Championships at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder to lead Regis Jesuit to the regional championship, shooting an even 210 on the day as a team. Lore and Walker scored 2-under 68 and 1-under 69, respectively.
 
Valor Christian finished in second, at 9-over 219, and automatically qualified for the state championships, along with Regis. Maxwell Eide, Campbell McFadden, and Ian O’Fallon were Valor’s top-three golfers, and all tied for sixth overall, with a score of 3-over 73.
 
Right behind Valor Christian, was Boulder, which finished 12-over 222, with Doug Holleman (3-over 73, t6th), Sam Skubic (4-over 74, t13th) and Boden Wrenn (5-over 75, t15th) leading the way.
 
Fairview, with a 17-over 227, and Fruita Monument, with an 18-over 228, were the other top-five teams.
 
After Lore and Walker, Arvada West’s Parker Pfitzer had the best individual performance, scoring an even 70, thanks to birdies he picked up on holes 1, 8 and 11.
 
Rounding out the top five individual performances were Dillon Jones of Fruita Monument, who finished fourth, with a score of 1-over 71, and Sawyer Sales of Fairview, who finished fifth, with a score of 2-over 72. Jones was even for the lion’s share of the day, picking up a birdie on hole 2, and then promptly bogeying on hole 3, and then bogeying again on hole 13. Sales had a more variable performance, as he birdied three times, bogeyed three times, and double-bogeyed on hole 18, dropping Sales from a third-place tie to fifth place.
 
After Sales, there was a seven-way tie for sixth place, between Grandview’s Michael Rosman, Mountain Vista’s Conner Scheich, Boulder’s Holleman, Regis Jesuit’s Roland Thornton, and Valor Christian’s top three golfers.