Davis Bryant, Jack Castiglia, Griffin Barela, Jack Hughes among Coloradans who stood out during local Division I college golf fall season
By Gary Baines – 11/22/2021
The fall portion of the college golf season lasts two months or less, but it’s always action-packed, particularly in Colorado, which hosted seven NCAA Division I tournaments in September and October. Most DI programs play 4-6 fall events before taking a break of three months or so from intercollegiate competition, then cranking up for the “spring” schedule.
For the nine Colorado-based DI programs collectively, the last fall tournament took place earlier this month. Before memories fade too much, it’s worth revisiting some of the highlights of the fall from a local perspective.
The autumn of 2021 featured two team victories for local DI programs and four individual wins.
The Colorado State men won the first two of their four fall tournaments, both victories coming in Colorado (CSU’s Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club for the seventh straight year and the Paintbrush Invitational at Colorado Golf Club).
Individually, three Coloradans, plus an out-of-state player competing for the University of Denver, won the individual titles: Jack Castiglia of Lakewood and the University of Northern Colorado (Ram Masters), Davis Bryant of Aurora and CSU (Paintbrush), Jack Hughes of Aspen and the University of Colorado (the individual tournament at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club), and Anna Krekling of Norway and DU (Golfweek Red Sky Classic at Red Sky Golf Club).
It should be noted that of the Coloradans who posted two or more individual top-10 finishes in Division I events in the fall, two were high school teammates at Lakewood HS: 2021 CGA Amateur champion Griffin Barela (now at Wisconsin) and Castiglia. Castiglia notched first-, fourth- and seventh-place individual showings in the fall, while Barela had two thirds.
Below, we’ll note various autumn highlights, including national team and individual rankings, and top-30 individual finishes for Colorado residents — both those competing for in-state and out-of-state DI programs:
TEAM/INDIVIDUAL WINS FOR COLORADO-BASED DIV. I PROGRAMS
Team
— CSU men (Ram Masters)
— CSU men (Paintbrush Invitational)
Individual
— Davis Bryant of Aurora, CSU — Paintbrush Invitational
— Jack Castiglia of Lakewood, UNC — Ram Masters
— Jack Hughes of Aspen, CU — AFA Gene Miranda Falcon individual event
— Anna Krekling of Norway, DU — Golfweek Red Sky Classic
NATIONAL RANKINGS FOR COLORADO-BASED DIV. I TEAMS AND OTHER COLORADANS
Men’s Teams
81. CU (Golfstat; 83 Golfweek)
83. DU (Golfstat; 91 Golfweek)
100. CSU (Golfstat; 101 Golfweek)
152. UNC (Golfweek; 157 Golfstat)
271. Air Force (Golfstat; 272 Golfweek)
Among Men’s Top 250 individuals
79. Griffin Barela of Lakewood, Wisconsin (113 Golfweek)
168. Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, Oklahoma State (Golfweek)
180. Justin Biwer of San Diego, CU (Golfstat) (180 Golfweek)
205. Davis Bryant of Aurora, CSU (Golfweek)
212. Jack Castiglia of Lakewood, UNC (Golfweek)
Women’s Teams
53. DU (Golfstat; 64 Golfweek)
58. CU (Golfstat; 59 Golfweek)
104. CSU (Golfweek; 108 Golfstat)
190. UNC (Golfweek; 193 Golfstat)
Among Women’s Top 250 Individuals
149. Anna Zanusso of Italy, DU (Golfstat; (200 Golfweek)
171. Anna Krekling of Norway, DU (Golfweek; 172 Golfstat)
183. Diane Baillieux of Belgium, CU (Golfstat; 223 Golfweek)
191. Kelsey Webster of Boulder, Oregon State (Golfweek; 202 Golfstat)
231. Alyson Bean of Murrieta, Calif., DU (Golfstat; 246 Golfweek)
242. Ellie Gower of Scotland, CU (Golfweek)
[Note: Though we’re focused here primarily on Division I golf, it should be noted that the CSU-Pueblo men are ranked No. 25 nationally in Division II by Golfstat. And among the top 150 nationally ranked men’s players at local schools are: Andrew Ni of Scotland and CSU-Pueblo (16th by Golfstat), Matt Millar of England and CSU-Pueblo (38th), Adam Duncan of Bakersfield, Calif., and Colorado Christian (51st), Darren Edwards of Loveland and Fort Lewis (115th) and Dylan Arthur of Frisco, Texas and Colorado Christian (145th). On the women’s side, there’s Faith Christian of Wimberley, Texas and Colorado Christian (fifth), Julia Baroth of Denver and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (66th), Kylie Severin of Aurora and CSU-Pueblo (121st)].
COLORADANS AT IN-STATE DIV. I SCHOOLS WHO HAVE POSTED TOP-30 INDIVIDUAL FINISHES IN FALL
Men
Davis Bryant of Aurora, CSU — 2nd, 1st
Jack Castiglia of Lakewood, UNC — 14th, 1st, 7th, 4th
Ryder Heuston of Louisville, DU — 16th
Jack Hughes of Aspen, CU — 1st, 28th, 12th, 23rd
Connor Jones of Westminster, CSU — 11th, 9th, 5th
TJ Shehee of Mead, UNC — 4th
Jackson Solem of Longmont, DU — 5th, 12th, 24th, 9th
Marcus Tait of Littleton, UNC — 27th
Women
Jenna Chen of Highlands Ranch, UNC — 26th, 18th, 26th
Amy Chitkoksoong of Aurora, UNC — 17th, 10th, 23rd
Emma Bryant of Aurora, DU — 16th
Hailey Schalk of Erie, CU — 24th
COLORADANS AT OUT-OF-STATE DIV. I SCHOOLS WHO HAVE POSTED TOP-30 INDIVIDUAL FINISHES IN FALL
Men
Griffin Barela of Lakewood, Wisconsin — 22nd, 3rd, 3rd, 16th
Tyler Severin of Johnstown, Wyoming — 14th, 20th
Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, Oklahoma State — 27th, 3rd
Women
Leigha Devine of Windsor, Rutgers — 11th, 20th
Ashley Kozłowski of Littleton, Purdue — 22nd, 6th
Lauren Lehigh of Loveland, New Mexico — 21st, 16th
Megan Vogt of Broomfield, Wyoming — 16th, 21st, 12th, 19th
Kelsey Webster of Boulder, Oregon State — 11th, 19th
Jessica Zapf of Windsor, Wyoming — 29th