Locals wrap up regular season
Fairview takes 2nd at Harmony Club; Dawson wins Mile High League meet
Fairview boys golf could hardly have asked for a better showing at the Front Range League Championships at Harmony Club in Timnath on Tuesday.
Amid tight competition that saw the top three teams finish within five strokes of one another, the Knights claimed second place with a cumulative score of 287, just two strokes behind winner Fossil Ridge and three ahead of third-place Monarch. Broomfield claimed fourth at 307.
To further illuminate the talent on the course, Fossil Ridge’s Austin Barry won after carding a 5-under-par 67 as Broomfield’s Mason Hill, Fairview’s freshman Miles Kuhl, senior Mathieu Zerwin and Monarch’s Ryan Beals all tied for second with a 69. Monarch’s Talan Gover and Broomfield’s Sawyer Hyten didn’t lag too far behind, placing sixth and 10th, respectively, after completing their rounds at 70 and 72.
The entire Knights team finished within eight strokes of one another as junior Sawyer Sales carded a 74 (14th place), senior Nathan Sager scored a 75 (18th) and senior Noah Sherry finished up with a 77 (27th).
“Today was a good day,” Zerwin said. “I felt pretty confident with almost everything so those days are always fun. Our team played pretty well today. … We haven’t yet had a round where the majority of our players played better than average this season and today, I know we all left some out on the course. This season has been good and I believe it will continue to get better.”
The onus of league championships put extra pressure on the Knights to perform well, and they answered that call with five excellent rounds. Both Zerwin and Kuhl believe their team — ranked
— ranked sixth in Class 5A based on scoring average — has stacked up well with the competition to date and can carry that momentum into strong regional and state campaigns.
Both boys believe the Front Range League possesses some of the best talent in the state, a notion that Tuesday’s tight scores backed up.
“Everyone started off really hot and while I didn’t get off the best start myself, I had to fight back, which gave me the motivation to stay in it,” Kuhl said. “The course was pretty tough with some tricky holes and pin placements. The greens were tough, making the course difficult overall. I expected everyone to play well because it was league championships and everyone wanted to play their best golf.”
The Knights will now look to carry their success into the 5A Northern regional tournament they are set to host next week at the Flatirons Golf Course as confidence runs high within the program.
Monarch, likewise, will look to carry its momentum forward after edging out Fairview in the full-season league standings. The Coyotes accrued 1,467 strokes through five rounds, just four ahead of the Knights and 14 ahead of Fossil Ridge.
To date, Monarch ranks second in the classification and Fossil Ridge is tied for seventh. Gover leads all of Class 5A’s individual standings with a 68.2 scoring average. He believes that camaraderie and skill can take the Coyotes far as the season begins to wind down.
“This season, my game has really come together because I’ve focused on the mental aspect a lot more than I have in the past,” Gover said. “I have focused on staying patient, staying calm and staying present and in the moment and not getting ahead of myself.
“I think our team has had a lot of success this year because of the team chemistry. We get along great, we hold each other up high and we also hold each other accountable because, at the end of the day, that’s how we get better.”
Legacy senior Ben Cerretani (73 strokes, 11th), Monarch junior Jackson Harberts (74, 14th), Boulder senior Eamon Sweeney (75, 18th), Boulder junior Doug Holleman (75, 18th) and Erie freshman Noah Haas (76, 23rd) rounded out the top-25 performances for local teams.