Regional golf: Fossil Ridge team title, Windsor winner leads 14 local state qualifiers

Colorado high school boys golf regionals took place around the state this week, kicking off October and fall championship season in state prep sports.

Eight Fort Collins-area schools had golfers competing across four classifications, with locals winning a team and individual title plus runner-up finishes in each.

The top two teams and top 13 individual players not on a qualifying team advance from each regional to state tournament play.

Here are the 14 local players and three teams who will compete for the Colorado state golf championships next Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 7-8.

Fossil Ridge wins regional team championship

The SaberCats are again the class of the local links, winning the Class 5A Central Region by two shots over Regis Jesuit on Monday with a score of 1-under 215 at South Suburban Golf Course in Centennial.

Three Fossil golfers earned top-five spots with scores of even par or better, including an individual runner-up.

Here are the SaberCats’ regional rounds and places:

Landon Houska: 71 (-1) (2nd place)
Kaden Davenport: 72 (E) (T-4th)
Austin Barry: 72 (E) (T-4th)
Luca Gurdgiev: 74 (+2) (T-10th)

Fossil will be among the favorites for the 5A crown after winning the 2022 state title and a top-five finish last year.

Kellen Ball leads Windsor at home regional

The Wizards came very close to a home regional crown, finishing second to Monarch by two shots in 4A Region 3 action at Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club on Monday.

However, senior Kellen Ball took the individual crown with a 1-under 71 to win by five shots. The Wizards compiled a team score of 235 (+19) to qualify the Wizards for the 4A state championships.

Here are Windsor’s regional results:

Kellen Ball: 71 (-1) (1st)
Tadese Keyworth: 80 (+8) (T-12th)
Austyn Bell: 84 (+12) (17th)
Dillon Calkins: 88 (+16) (T-22nd)

Timnath qualifies all four players for state

The Cubs tied for second in the team competition but qualified all four individual golfers anyway with a remarkably consistent regional performance.

All four Timnath golfers finished within three shots of each other and among the top-15 in 3A Region 3 play Tuesday at Quail Dunes Golf Course in Fort Morgan.

The Cubs shot a 24-over 240 team score to tie Lutheran as runner-ups, 13 shots back of regional champion Resurrection Christian.

Here are Timnath’s regional results:

Jackson Summers: 79 (+7) (T-7th)
Greysen Kilburn: 79 (+7) (T-7th)
Brodey Weappa: 82 (+10) (T-13th)
Ethan Eisenmenger: 82 (+10) (T-13th)

Other local qualifiers

Liberty Common (2A), Wellington (3A) and Poudre/Rocky Mountain/Fort Collins (5A) also competed in regional play.

Fort Collins and Poudre each had one player earn state qualifying spots:

Poudre’s Max Riley: 76 (+6) (T-8th in 5A Western Region at Indian Tree Golf Course in Arvada)
Fort Collins’ Jake Bronson: 78 (+6) (T-15th in 5A Central Region at Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield)

Poudre’s Ryder Clarkson (79, +9), Fort Collins Joseph Cinabro (81, +9), Rocky Mountain’s Cavyn Nelson (83, +11) and Wellington’s Tyler Lamere (86, +14) narrowly missed qualifying out of their respective regionals.

State tournament schedule, format

The Colorado high school boys golf state championships will be next Monday and Tuesday (Oct. 7-8) at various sites around the state.

The format will be two stroke play rounds, with the lowest two-day score winning the individual title. The top three scores each day count toward team scores, and the lowest two-day combined score takes the team crown.

Here are the courses and sites for the state tournament in each classification: