2A Boys Golf: Swink’s Pearson Wins Individual Playoff, Frontier Academy Captures First-Ever State Title

PUEBLO – There was no shortage of drama at the Class 2A state boys golf tournament.

Swink senior Noah Pearson rallied from four shots down with four holes to play in regulation to win an improbable state championship in the third hole of the sudden-death playoff Tuesday at Elmwood Golf Course.

“This feels great,” Pearson said. “It took me four years, and I’ve put a lot of work in these last couple of summers and it paid off for me. It is just the greatest feeling ever.”

Pearson and Frontier Academy sophomore Isaiah Fowler completed two days and 36 holes of play tied at 3-over-par 143.

That’s when the pressure was amped up and the playoff began to determine the state champ.

The playoff started at hole No. 1 and moved on to hole No. 17, and with no winner determined yet, that set the table for the next playoff hole – the par-4, 343-yard 18th.

“It is a very fine line from being coach and dad,” said Swink coach Aaron Pearson, Noah’s father. “I relied on my assistant coach Jay Paolucci to coach him, and I was relaying messages to him. I’m in awe right now. It has been amazing to watch him grow up and see the golfer he has become.”

“This feels really awesome, and we have only been a program for 10 years,” Frontier Academy coach Erin Bley said. “It was a lot of hard work all season and the boys did exactly what they needed to do, and we were mentally prepared and got the job done. I think the thing that is the most amazing is to get to watch my boys cherish this moment (as state champions).”

Noah Pearson is the first boys state champion golfer from Swink High School.

“My mindset going into the playoffs was the thought that I have played hole No. 1 well the last two days and it starts with a good drive and sure enough I got one,” Noah Pearson said. “I missed the birdie putt, and I came back with the par. Then at the next hole, No. 17, it was 209 yards. I pulled the 6-iron and there was heavy wind in my face, and I kept it low and it landed short. I left myself about a 20-foot putt and then I was about three feet short, and then I missed that putt and we both bogeyed the hole.”

On the third playoff hole, Noah delivered the biggest shot of his prep career – a 330-yard drive.

“To get the center of the green on No. 18 was 350 yards and I believe I hit it to around 330 yards,” the 6-foot-2,145-pound Noah said. “That’s a drive I will never forget. It felt amazing.”

Noah then one-upped himself with a spectacular chip that stopped on the lip of the cup, allowing him to tap in for birdie.

“The chip was pretty flat and downwind, so I had to land it on the front, and it rolled about 15 to 20 feet for a tap-in birdie. It felt great.”

Noah secured the win when Fowler chipped past the hole on his birdie attempt.

Although Fowler came up short for the individual crown, he did help Frontier Academy, based in Greeley, capture its first state boys state title with a two-round total of 452 strokes.

“This feels really awesome, and we have only been a program for 10 years,” Frontier Academy coach Erin Bley said. “It was a lot of hard work all season and the boys did exactly what they needed to do, and we were mentally prepared and got the job done. I think the thing that is the most amazing is to get to watch my boys cherish this moment (as state champions).”

In addition to Fowler, Frontier Academy’s team consisted of junior Canton Sandstrom (78-79) and senior Hayden Leblount (83-74) who each shot a 17-over-par 157 to tie for 20th, individually. Junior Owen Steward tied for 41st (78-87-165).