Improving 14 strokes from regional meet, Fossil Ridge’s Austin Barry takes 5A state high school lead with 64; Denver North’s Sawyer Klein (69) ahead in 4A, Clint Summers of Resurrection Christian (69) in 3A
By Gary Baines – 10/3/2022
Sophomore Austin Barry of Fossil Ridge shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 to grab a four-stroke lead in the 5A state high school meet at City Park Golf Course in Denver.
On Sept. 22, Barry finished 20th in the 5A Southern Regional state qualifier, posting a 78 at South Suburban Golf Course, but was 14 strokes lower on Monday. He’s four shots up on second-place Charlie Tucker of Rock Canyon going into Tuesday’s final round.
Senior Wes Erling of Pine Creek, the state runner-up in a playoff last year, shares third place at 69 with freshman Landon Houska of Fossil Ridge and Monarch senior Caleb Michaels.
Not surprisingly, with three players shooting 71 or better, Fossil Ridge leads the team race, posting a stellar 6-under total for a seven-stroke advantage over Rock Canyon.
In the Class 4A tournament at Pelican Lakes in Windsor, senior Sawyer Klein of Denver North heads a packed leaderboard with a 3-under-par 69 that included six birdies and three bogeys. He played his final 15 holes in 5 under.
Senior Reese Knox of Falcon, the 4A runner-up last year, and sophomore Kellen Ball of host Windsor share second place at 70.
Riverdale Ridge, the defending team champion, leads the team race at 1 over par, two better than Cheyenne Mountain.
In Class 3A at Pinehurst Country Club in south Denver, another close individual competition took shape, with freshman Clint Summers of Resurrection Christian posting the only sub-par round of the day, a 1-under 69.
Senior Thayer Plewe of Montezuma Cortez, who’s finished second in 3A each of the past two years, sits a stroke back of Summers, who carded two birdies and one bogey on the day.
Vail Mountain, which placed third last year at state, posted an 11-over-par total and holds a two-stroke lead over Resurrection Christian in the team standings, with host Colorado Academy six out of the lead.
Team and Individual Leaders at State HS Tournaments
5A AT PAR-70 CITY PARK GC
Team
Fossil Ridge 204
Rock Canyon 211
Cherry Creek 217
Pine Creek 217
Arapahoe 219
Individual
Austin Barry, Fossil Ridge 64
Charlie Tucker, Rock Canyon 68
Wes Erling, Pine Creek 69
Landon Houska, Rossil Ridge 69
Caleb Michaels, Mpnarch 69
Ian Hunn, Fort Collins 70
Spencer Schlegel, Legend 70
Luke Blankinship, Boulder 70
Brayden Scheich, Mountain Vista 70
Gavin Crowley, Heritage 70
4A AT PAR-72 PELICAN LAKES G&CC
Team
Riverdale Ridge 217
Cheyenne Mountain 219
Windsor 223
Silver Creek 228
Falcon 229
Individual
Sawyer, Klein, Denver North 69
Kellen Ball, Windsor 70
Reese Knox, Falcon 70
Ben Harding, Silver Creek 71
Bradley Weinmaster, Riverdale Ridge 71
Thomas Herholtz, Cheyenne Mountain 71
Tyler Long, Evergreen 72
Zane Aiken, Ponderosa 72
Kale Parthen, Cheyenne Mountain 73
Will Balliet, Riverdale Ridge 73
Aiden Sweeney, Riverdale Ridge 73
3A AT PAR-70 PINEHURST CC
Team
Vail Mountain 221
Resurrection Christian 223
Colorado Academy 227
Peak to Peak 230
Aspen 231
Individual
Clint Summers, Resurrection Christian 69
Thayer Plewe, Montezuma Cortez 70
Rudiger Heitz, Holy Family 71
Ryan Woodley, Liberty Common 71
Carson Miller, Aspen 72
Garrett Exelbert, Basalt 72
Stewie Bruce, Vail Mountain 73
TJ Giordano, Colorado Academy 73
Taj Kumar, D’Evelyn 73
Felix Gruner, Vail Mountain 73
Colorado Golf Journal 