Evergreen senior Tyler Long caps nearly perfect season by going bogey-free en route to 3A state high school title; other state champs: Gavin Amella (5A), Brayden Destefano (4A) and Kameron Gilbert (the first 2A winner)
By Gary Baines – 10/8/2024
A look at the iWanamaker rankings of boys high school golfers in the state illustrates plenty about the jaw-dropping season Evergreen senior Tyler Long had in capping off his prep golf career.
Long sits atop the state high school rankings — regardless of classification — by a lot. His scoring average for the year was about 2.5 strokes better than the next-best player.
IWanamaker notes that Long didn’t shoot a tournament score higher than 69 this season — and that he won — or at least shared the title — at all eight high school events in which he competed. And he shot 66 or lower six times in his nine competitive rounds.
With all that being the case, it’s not hard to guess how the future University of Colorado player finished off his high school golf career — with a dominant individual victory on Tuesday in the Class 3A meet at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, along with a second straight state team title for Evergreen.
After placing fifth and second at state the past two years, Long claimed his first individual state high school championship. The four-time Jeffco League season-long individual champ posted scores of 67-68 for a 9-under-par total and a four-stroke victory.
Over 36 holes on Monday and Tuesday, the 2024 AJGA Colorado Springs Junior winner went bogey-free, making nine birdies.
This is how iWanamaker has Long’s tournament scores over the course of the 2024 prep season: 66, 66, 65, 64, 63, 69, 64, 67 and 68.
Sophomore Griffin Didier of Basalt (69-70) finished runner-up in 3A, while Peak to Peak junior Jack Brayman (71-69) was third, five behind Long.
Evergreen ran away for its second consecutive state team title as the Cougars checked in at 12 under for two days, 17 ahead of Resurrection Christian. Joining Long on the winning team were fellow seniors Liam Houlihan (fourth place overall), Luke Sabina (fifth) and Lincoln MacKay (seventh).
5A at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora: Junior Gavin Amella of Castle View led wire-to-wire in posting a one-stroke individual victory in the Class 5A state meet.
In a tournament where 13 players finished under par for 36 holes, Amella went 66-67 for a 9-under-par total. Grandview senior Michael Rosman (67-67) placed second. Fairview junior Miles Kuhl, who qualified for the 2024 U.S. Amateur as a 16-year-old, tied for third place — four back of Amella — with Columbine senior Alex Lest and Cherokee Trail junior Dalton Sisneros. Lest won the CGA State Junior title at CommonGround in late June.
Amella made four straight birdies on the front nine on Tuesday (5-8) and stood 5 under par for his round at that point. He then made eight consecutive pars before going bogey-par on his final two holes for the victory.
Amella placed eighth at last year’s state meet and represented Colorado in the boys Junior America’s Cup this past summer.
Cherry Creek, a dominant team in the 1970s but without a boys state golf title since 1981, got back in the championship column with a three-stroke victory over runner-up Cherokee Trail. The Bruins finished 3 under par over two days as a team. It marked Cherry Creek’s ninth boys state high school title, which ties the Bruins for the most ever in Colorado boys golf with Regis Jesuit and Kent Denver.
This year’s Cherry Creek team was comprised of all seniors: Henry Starr (12th place), Wyatt Isgrig (15th), Dalton Schwartz (22nd) and Andre Dumonteil (26th).
4A at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction: Cheyenne Mountain swept the individual and team titles in Class 4A.
CM sophomore Brayden Destefano, the first-round leader, stayed atop the leaderboard as a 1-under-par 70 on Tuesday gave him a winning total of 4 under. He made four birdies and three bogeys on day 2.
Destefano held off hard-charging senior teammate Charlie Doyle, who rebounded from a first-round 75 with a 5-under 67 on Tuesday, when he closed with three straight birdies. Placing third was Grand Junction senior Ky Korte (72-73).
Cheyenne Mountain — with a team of Destefano, Doyle, senior Ethan Ivany (sixth place) and sophomore Fenn Mullins (21st) — recorded a two-day total of 3 over par, which left the Redtail Hawks 18 ahead of Grand Junction and 29 in front of third-place Windsor.
CMHS — which has Colin Prater, a 2024 U.S. Open qualifier and a three-time CGA Amateur champion, as an assistant coach — scored its fourth state team title in boys golf.
2A at The Club at Rolling Hills in Golden: Senior Kameron Gilbert of Strasburg will go down as the first individual state champion in the new 2A Classification, which this year joined the 5A, 4A and 3A state meets.
The first boys state high school tournament was held in Colorado in 1947, and from then through 1999 there was a single state meet. Things were separated into Class 5A and 4A starting in 2000, and 3A was added to the mix in 2008.
Gilbert backed up his first-round 79 with a 1-under-par 70 on Tuesday to claim the 2A title by three strokes. On day 2, Gilbert carded three birdies and two bogeys on the challenging Rolling Hills layout.
Senior David Thomson of Golden View Classical Academy finished second after rounds of 78-74, while Wray senior Corbin Sprague (79-76) was third.
Golden View (+63 for two days) overcame Monte Vista (+65) and Sterling (+66) for the first 2A team championship. Golden View’s squad included Thomson, Collen Todd (seventh overall), Luke Chronowski (32nd) and Matthew Traudt (71st).
Top Team and Individual Finishers at the Boys State High School Golf Tournaments
5A AT PAR-71 COMMONGROUND GC IN AURORA
Team (Best 3 Scores)
Cherry Creek 213-210–423
Cherokee Trail 219-207–426
Fossil Ridge 222-210–432
Valor Christian 215-217–432
Fairview 220-213—433
Individual
Gavin Amella, Castle View 66-67—133
Michael Rosman, Grandview 67-67–134
Miles Kuhl, Fairview 69-68—137
Dalton Sisneros, Cherokee Trail 69-68–137
Alex Lest, Columbine 68-69–137
Ash Edwards, Fairview 70-68–138
Ian O’Fallon, Valor Christian 67-71–138
Luke Wright, Pine Creek 70-69–139
Landon Houska, Fossil Ridge 72-67–139
Jesse Hand, Chatfield 70-69–139
4A AT PAR-71 TIARA RADO GC IN GRAND JUNCTION
Team (Best 3 Scores)
Cheyenne Mountain 214-215–429
Grand Junction 220-227–447
Windsor 225-233—458
Durango 235-232—467
Air Academy 235-241–476
Individual
Brayden Destefano, Cheyenne Mountain 68-70—138
Charlie Doyle, Cheyenne Mountain 75-67–142
Ky Korte, Grand Junction 72-73–145
Tadese Keyworth, Windsor 71-76–147
Parker Shaw, Pueblo West 76-71–147
Ethan Ivany, Cheyenne Mountain 71-78–149
Jack Kaul, Grand Junction 72-77–149
Zack Lacrosse, Skyline 75-76–151
Drew Jepson, Durango 77-75—152
Hunter Simmons, Grand Junction 76-77–153
Billy Verstraate, Highlands Ranch 77-76–153
3A AT PAR-72 WALKING STICK GC IN PUEBLO
Team (Best 3 Scores)
Evergreen 207-213–420
Resurrection Christian 219-218–437
Basalt 224-222—446
Lutheran 229-220—449
Peak to Peak 226-225–451
Individual
Tyler Long, Evergreen 67-68–135
Griffin Didier, Basalt 69-70—139
Jack Brayman, Peak to Peak 71-69–140
Liam Houlihan, Evergreen 70-72–142
Micah Livingstone, Resurrection Christian 73-71–144
Luke Sabina, Evergreen 71-73–144
Lincoln MacKay, Evergreen 70-75–145
Clint Summers, Resurrection Christian 72-73–145
Nicholas Brooks, Lutheran 75-71–146
Jackson Stewart, Basalt 74-73–147
Hayden Dorsey, Manitou Springs 73-74–147
Johnathon Smith, Pagosa Springs 73-74–147
2A AT PAR-71 CLUB AT ROLLING HILLS IN GOLDEN
Team (Best 3 Scores)
Golden View Classical Academy 241-248—489
Monte Vista 246-245—491
Sterling 250-242—492
Wray 252-250—502
Gunnison 260-245—505
Individual
Kameron Gilbert, Strasburg 79-70—149
David Thomson, Golden View Classical Academy 78-74–152
Corbin Sprague, Wray 79-76—155
Damien Baca, Las Animas 76-80—156
Carson Zummach, Gunnison 82-75–157
Isaiah Fowler, Frontier Academy 84-85–159
Collen Todd, Golden View Classical Academy 77-84–161
Noah Pearson, Swink 79-82–161
Kaden Mellott, Monte Vista 78-85–163
Connor Mellott, Monte Vista 82-81–163
Joshua Reeves, SkyView Academy 83-80–163
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