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Halfway Point

11 players shoot in 60s on opening day for boys state high school tournaments, including 8 in Class 5A

By Gary Baines – 10/7/2024

Senior Tyler Long of Evergreen, who’s posted individual finishes of fifth and second at state high school golf tournaments the last two years, has put himself in position to close out his final season of prep golf with a state title.

But there’s still one round left for Long, who’s committed to play his college golf at the University of Colorado.

In a season full of superlatives for Long, he shot a bogey-free 5-under-par 67 on Monday in the Class 3A state meet at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo. The five-birdie day gives with 2024 AJGA Colorado Springs Junior champion a two-stroke lead going into Tuesday’s final round. 

According to iWanamaker, Long has now posted at least eight rounds of 69 or better during high school tournaments in 2024, including a 63 and two 64s.

With four players in the top five individually after round 1, the defending state champs from Evergreen posted a 9-under-par total as a team and leads that competition by 12 strokes.

With an unprecedented four boys state high school tournaments being held this year — all on Monday and Tuesday — 11 competitors shot in the 60s on the opening day, all of them coming from Classes 5A, 4A and 3A. Here around the roundups from the other state meets:

5A at CommonGround GC: Junior Gavin Amella of Castle View, who placed eighth in last year’s state tournament, eagled the par-5 18th hole at CommonGround Golf Course — his ninth of the day — and added six birdies and three bogeys, carding a 5-under-par 66  to earn a one-stroke lead at the midway point of the 5A tournament.

Seniors Ian O’Fallon of Valor Christian and Michael Rosman of Grandview opened with 67s and share second place. In all, eight players shot in the 60s at CommonGround on Monday. 

In the team standings, Cherry Creek (even par) leads the way, but 10 other schools are within nine strokes of the Bruins. 

4A at Tiara Rado GC: Cheyenne Mountain, featuring an assistant coach (Colin Prater) who played in the 2024 U.S. Open and won the CGA Amateur for the third time, leads both the team and individual standings after day 1.

The Redtail Hawks stand at 1 over par as a team and hold a six-stroke advantage on hometown favorite Grand Junction.

Cheyenne Mountain has three players in the top 10 individually, including the leader, sophomore Brayden Destefano, whose 3-under-par 68 is good for a three-stroke advantage. Destefano eagled the par-4 18th and added five birdies and four bogeys on the day.

Senior teammate Ethan Ivany shares second place at 71 with Windsor’s Tadese Keyworth, while Cheyenne Mountain’s Charlie Doyle checked in in eighth place at 75.

2A at Club at Rolling Hills: In the inaugural 2A state high school boys golf tournament in Colorado, Rolling Hills proved a difficult test as Las Animas senior Damien Baca’s 5-over-par 76 led the way individually and only eight players broke 80 on day 1.

Team-wise, Golden View Classical Academy posted a 28-over-par total, good for a five-stroke lead.

Team and Individual Leaders at the Boys State High School Golf Tournaments


5A AT PAR-71 COMMONGROUND GC IN AURORA

Team (Best 3 Scores)

Cherry Creek 213

Valor Christian 215

Columbine 216

Erie 216

Heritage 219

Cherokee Trail 219

Individual

Gavin Amella, Castle View 66

Ian O’Fallon, Valor Christian 67

Michael Rosman, Grandview 67

Alex Lest, Columbine 68

Campbell McFadden, Valor Christian 68

Miles Kuhl, Fairview 69

Drew Dawson, Columbine 69

Dalton Sisneros, Cherokee Trail 69

Cole Kratz, Denver South 70

Ash Edwards, Fairview 70

Sam Skubic, Boulder 70

Luke Wright, Pine Creek 70

Jesse Hand, Chatfield 70

Sebastian Hein, Heritage 70

Andre Dumonteil, Cherry Creek 70

Henry Starr, Cherry Creek 70


4A AT PAR-71 TIARA RADO GC IN GRAND JUNCTION

Team (Best 3 Scores)

Cheyenne Mountain 214

Grand Junction 220

Windsor 225

Durango 235

Air Academy 235

Individual 

Brayden Destefano, Cheyenne Mountain 68

Tadese Keyworth, Windsor 71

Ethan Ivany, Cheyenne Mountain 71

Jack Kaul, Grand Junction 72

Ky Korte, Grand Junction 72

Will Sallee, Loveland 74

Brandon Blacker, Montrose 74

Charlie Doyle, Cheyenne Mountain 75

Booth Hayes, Mead 75

Sam Brennan, Air Academy 75

Zack Lacrosse, Skyline 75


3A AT PAR-72 WALKING STICK GC IN PUEBLO

Team (Best 3 Scores)

Evergreen 207

Resurrection Christian 219

Basalt 224

Timnath 225

Peak to Peak 226

Individual 

Tyler Long, Evergreen 67

Griffin Didier, Basalt 69

Lincoln MacKay, Evergreen 70

Liam Houlihan, Evergreen 70

Luke Sabina, Evergreen 71

Jack Brayman, Peak to Peak 71

Ethan Eisenmenger, Timnath 72

Clint Summers, Resurrection Christian 72

Micah Livingstone, Resurrection Christian 73

Hayden Dorsey, Manitou Springs 73

Johnathon Smith, Pagosa Springs 73


2A AT PAR-71 CLUB AT ROLLING HILLS IN GOLDEN

Team (Best 3 Scores)

Golden View  Classical Academy 241

Monte Vista 246

Swink 249

Sterling 250

Wray 252

Individual 

Damien Baca, Las Animas 76

Collen Todd, Golden View Classical Academy 77

David Thomson, Golden View Classical Academy 78

Kaden Mellott, Monte Vista 78

Kameron Gilbert, Strasburg 79

Corbin Sprague, Wray 79

Noah Pearson, Swink 79

Landon Webb, SkyView Academy 79

Sam Casey, Vail Christian 80

Dayton Diorio, Sterling 80

Connor Mellott, Monte Vista 82

Carson Zummach, Gunnison 82


About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com