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