Another graduate of Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy awarded Evans Scholarship to CU; now, a record 8 from SCLA will be part of incoming class; overall, 30 from Academy have earned the scholarship
By Gary Baines – 3/11/2021
When the new class of Evans Scholars moves into the E.S. house at the University of Colorado late this upcoming summer, there will be far-more-than-typical familiarity within the group of incoming caddies.
Normally, a few of the newcomers may know one another by virtue of their past work as “loopers” at the same course. This year, there will be much more of that.
You see, more than half of the incoming Evans Scholars started their caddie careers at the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, with all but one of those having worked at the CommonGround Golf Course chapter.
The Western Golf Association, which administers the Evans Scholarship nationwide and partners with the CGA in supporting the program in Colorado, last month announced that 14 caddies from the Centennial State were headed to CU on the full-tuition and housing grant, estimated to be worth $120,000 if renewed for four years. Of those 14, seven began caddying at the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy — six at CommonGround and one in Grand Junction.
But earlier this week, another WGA announcement confirmed that yet another former SCLA caddie has been awarded an Evans Scholarship and will be attending CU. Armando Duarte of Denver looped at CGA-owned CommonGround for two years before going on to work during the summer of 2019 at the Sankaty Head Caddie Camp at Sankaty Head Golf Club, located on Nanucket Island, Mass. At Sankaty Head, “campers live in a structured, disciplined camp environment (located on course grounds) and spend part of each day caddying for members. … (They’re) paid for caddying and also have the opportunity to qualify for academic scholarships awarded annually by the Sankaty Head Foundation,” according to campsankatyhead.org.
During the school year, Duarte attends Regis Jesuit High School in south Aurora. Given his caddie history at Sankaty Head, he participated in a different selection committee meeting than did the other incoming CU Evans Scholars.
In 2018 while he was still at the SCLA, Duarte reflected on what caddying had meant to him.
“Before I started, I never knew anything about golf,” he said then. “I thought golf was the most boring sport ever. … Now, I think it’s a great thing to do. I got all that from caddying.”
Duarte, who went on to serve as an assistant caddie manager at the Solich Academy, joins Quincy Slaughter of Aurora in earning an Evans Scholarship after caddying at both CommonGround and Sankaty Head.
With this week’s addition, a record class of eight from the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy will be incoming Evans Scholars. (In fact, the previous record for a single year had been four.) And that makes an even 30 Solich Academy products who have received an Evans Scholarship since the SCLA debuted in 2012. It should be noted that the brothers for whom the SCLA is named — George and Duffy Solich — are both CU Evans Scholar alums themselves after caddying at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in the 1970s.
The Solich program promotes the use of caddies by paying their base fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding tips. The Academy also features a robust leadership element, with each participating youngster not only caddying but required to attend leadership classes and do community-service work each summer.
The Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy was launched at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and expanded to Meridian Golf Club in Englewood and to Grand Junction. Typically, Denver-based Solich caddies spend a couple of years at CommonGround or Meridian before moving on to loop at some of the longest-standing caddie programs in the area — such as Cherry Hills Country Club, Denver Country Club, Lakewood Country Club, etc.
In addition to eight incoming Evans Scholars coming from the SCLA — including Kalea Potter, the first from the Grand Junction chapter — two members of the new Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy have received Evans Scholarships this year. The BCLA features many of the same elements as the Solich Academy. The Solich brothers likewise laid the groundwork and are supporting the BCLA.
The caddies from the academies certainly aren’t the only ones from the incoming class of CU Evans Scholars whose paths likely have crossed over the years. Five of the E.S. newcomers caddied at Cherry Hills Country Club — all five of them after starting at the SCLA — along with two from Lakewood Country Club, two from Roaring Fork Club, and two from The Broadmoor/BCLA.
For a list of the 14 caddies who will become Evans Scholars late in the summer — in addition to Duarte — CLICK HERE.
Here are the 30 Solich Caddie Leadership Academy products who have received Evans Scholarships over the years. Twenty-five started caddying at CommonGround Golf Course, four at Meridian Golf Club and one in Grand Junction:
2013
— Asni Solomon of Denver. Attended Bishop Machebeuf High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course.
2014
— Dalton Anderson of Firestone. Homeschooled. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Bradley Garcia-Garza of Aurora. Attended Mullen High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Jordan Gillmore of Broomfield. Attended The Academy of Charter Schools. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Lakewood Country Club.
— Arturo Mata-Martinez of Denver. Attended Bishop Machebeuf High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
2015
— Joshua Aguilar-Wynn of Aurora. Attended Cherry Creek High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Dominic Perea of Denver. Attended Denver Center for International Studies High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Denver Country Club.
2016
— Henock Solomon of Denver. Attended Bishop Machebeuf High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
2017
— Ian Sevier Barrios of Aurora. Attended Regis Jesuit Hight School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Joshua Garcia of Denver. Attended Faith Christian Academy. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Denver Country Club.
— Kalil Miles of Aurora. Attended Aurora Central High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Denver Country Club.
— Madison Rivas of Aurora. Attended Overland High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Denver Country Club.
2018
— George Conway of Centennial. Attended Cherry Creek High School. Caddied at Meridian Golf Club.
— Kyndall Hadley of Centennial. Attended Smoky Hill High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Helina Seyoum of Denver. Attended Bishop Machebeuf High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course.
— Quincy Slaughter of Aurora. Attended Aurora Central High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Nantucket, Mass.
2019
— Eliannah Angel-Lucero of Aurora. Attended Regis Jesuit High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Carmen Garcia of Denver. Attended St. Mary’s Academy. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Quinn Hiatt of Denver. Attended Overland High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
2020
— Giovanny Gordillo of Denver. Attended Regis Jesuit High School. Caddied at Meridian Golf Club and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Fenton Dowling of Littleton. Attended Regis Jesuit High School. Caddied at Meridian Golf Club.
— Logan Byler of Parker. Attended Valor Christian High School. Caddied at Meridian Golf Club and Castle Pines Golf Club.
2021
— Andrew Johnson of Denver. Attends (Denver) East High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Natalie Perez of Aurora. Attends Colorado Early Colleges and Community College of Denver. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Kalea Potter of Grand Junction. Attends Palisade High School. Caddied at Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction.
— Hector Rodriguez of Aurora. Attends Mullen High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Creek Country Club.
— Maria Angela Rojas of Aurora. Attends William Smith High School and Pickens Technical College; Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Ethan Sevier-Barrios of Aurora; Attended Regis Jesuit High School and currently a freshman at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Simon Seyoum of Denver. Attends KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Armando Duarte of Denver. Attends Regis Jesuit High School. Caddied at CommonGround Golf Course and Sankaty Head Golf Club in Nantucket, Mass.
As for products of The Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy who have received Evans Scholarships at CU:
2021
— Katherine Kachel of Colorado Springs. Attends Doherty High School. Caddied at The Broadmoor Golf Club.
— Karris Kelbel of Colorado Springs. Attends Cheyenne Mountain High School. Caddied at The Broadmoor Golf Club.