Class 5A
Boulder Panthers
Coach: Russell Selnau
The Scorecard: Boulder didn’t have a golfer in the state tournament last fall. Selnau, now going into his third season as the school’s golf coach, is hoping that’ll change. The program is returning a large varsity contingent, and with the addition of freshman Anton Taranda, the coach said the Panthers should have a strong core in 2022. Among them, senior Luke Blankinship was named as a Front Range League honorable mention after finishing 20th in the league’s final season standings. Fellow classmates Ryder Grano and Siadhal Sweeney also return alongside junior Doug Holleman, who was second on the team to Blankinship in the FRL standings, finishing 30th.
Fairview Knights
Coach: John Zerwin
The Scorecard: The Knights have a lot to like in 2022. They bring back three state players from last fall in Sawyer Sales, Mathieu Zerwin and Nathan Sager. Sales was a first-team player in the Front Range League, finishing seventh. He then took 21st at the state tournament, and followed it up with a successful summer on the junior golf circuit where he recently won a match in Colorado’s match play tournament. Zerwin, the player who scored a pair of aces in a two-week span (just like his dad did years before), was 17th in league and 70th at state. Sager was 23rd and 79th. Others to watch, the coach said, are senior Noah Sherry and freshman Miles Kuhl. “Both played well in summer tournaments.”
Legacy Lightning
Coach: Bobby Ortega
The Scorecard: The Lightning, under the direction of longtime coach Ortega, finished 14th at the 5A state tournament last fall. Of the program’s three 2021 qualifiers (Ben Cerretani, Tommy Hammond and John McNabb), Cerretani is eligible to return after tying for 46th at the Colorado Springs Country Club. Cerretani, who shot 18-over-par 160 over two days at state last year, narrowly missed first team honors in the Front Range League. He placed 11th in the end-of-the-year standings, one shot behind Monarch’s Ian Henderson in the ninth and final first-team spot. Legacy, as a team, finished fifth in the FRL behind Fairview, Poudre, Monarch and league champ Fossil Ridge. Others to watch in 2022 are sophomores Luke Tourault, Matthew Allshouse and junior Tyler Hammond.
Monarch Coyotes
Coach: Geoff Findley
The Scorecard: Senior Caleb Michaels is looking to close out his high school golf career with his fourth straight trip to the state tournament. The Coyotes, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back as a team after they missed qualifying as a team in a regional playoff. Perhaps, big things await. Michaels is back after he followed his sixth-place finish in the Front Range League with a 21st-place finish at state in 2021. Talan Gover, now a junior, joins him as the team’s other returning state qualifier after he went 33rd at state. Also returning are juniors Jackson Harberts, a 2020 state qualifier, Ryan Beals and sophomore Cameron Nicholson. Others to watch include senior Aidan Kennedy, junior Jack Killian and sophomore Justin Myers. Findley said the team (spots one-through-eight) can shoot in the 70s.
Class 4A
Broomfield Eagles
Coach: Tony Ferraro
The Scorecard: The Eagles were sent down a classification as part of the sport’s realignment in 2022. Ferraro believes the move will help his team be more competitive at both the regional and state tournaments. Not that an ace player like Mason Hill may need it. The junior is back after he was among the leaders on the final day of the 5A state tournament before falling off. He finished eighth in the Front Range League’s season standings and ended up 39th at state. He is joined by fellow-returnee Sawyer Hyten, the now-senior who was 15th in the FRL and 42nd at state. Others to watch include seniors JJ Schatz, Keegan Brady (who both shot in the 70s at tryouts this fall, the coach said) as well as sophomore Isaac Cde Baca.
Centaurus Warriors
Coach: Ricardo Cabrera
The Scorecard: Senior Asa Wentworth leads the way for the Warriors after he finished sixth in his region and 23rd at state last fall. Matthew Vaver also returns after missing a state berth by one place. With them back, and talented newcomers coming up the wings, Cabrera said this year’s team is the best he’s had in his six years coaching. Juniors Jameson Love, Jaron Castellano and Will Thompson have all grown as players, and Cabrera believes each has promise in qualifying for the state tournament. “My goal would be to qualify as a team,” the coach said. “I’m excited to see this team flourish to its full potential.”
Erie Tigers
Coach: Brandon Bird
The Scorecard: “Erie” and “golf” have been trending up ever since the spring when ace Hadley Ashton and the girls team won the 4A state title. The boys’ team has some prospects of its own, joining the Front Range League after a promising 2021. Donovan O’Brien, now a sophomore, is back after he finished 72nd in the 4A tournament. Seniors Carter Navulur, Hudson Willard and Dylan Donahue also return after each missed the state cut by two strokes or less. “We expect to be a top 5 team in the state,” Bird said. “We have 13 players that can all break 85, so it’s going to be a dog fight to see who is going to be the four that represent us at regionals.”
Frederick Golden Eagles
Coach: Chris DeSantis
The Scorecard: The newly named Golden Eagles do not return any state qualifiers in 2022 after their best player, Jake Chesler, graduated. Chesler won the Longs Peak League and finished inside the top 10 in 4A in each of his four years. Now, the page is turned, and the question of who will step up is pressing. The goal, DeSantis said, is to “build off of tournaments early in the year to have success as we get closer to regionals and compete to get a few kids into the state tournament.” Among players to watch are juniors Layne Smotzer, Kyle Spence and senior Teagun Boen.
Longmont Trojans
Coach: Matt Engelking
The Scorecard: Engelking took over the program last season, adding to a coaching resume that includes his successful stint as the school’s wrestling coach. He’s back, and so is Trace Saunders, who was the program’s lone state qualifier last fall, finishing 36th while shooting 17-over-par 157 over two days at the City Park Golf Course in Denver. Saunders made the tournament’s field as a junior after narrowly missing the cut as a sophomore. He will be rejoined in 2022 with junior Matt Hunter, a varsity player last fall. Engelking said the program has 11 players registered this fall.
Mead Mavericks
Coach: Michael Ward
The Scorecard: The Mavericks did not have a state qualifier in 2021. But excitement is high for the future. They bring back Ethan Turner, who finished 18th in the Northern Colorado Athletic Conference standings last season. He simply “leads by example” for the program, the sixth-year coach said. Others to watch include freshman Booth Hayes, who has tournament experience, as well as “consistent player” Dominic Calvetti and the team’s lone senior, Cade Lavanchy. ‘I’m excited that we have a nice mixture of freshmen through seniors this year who all have pretty good skills,” Ward said. “Our goal is to play consistently throughout the year and peak at regionals.”
Niwot Cougars
Coach: Ed Weaver
The Scorecard: Niwot has its largest team ever, Weaver said. Twenty-five players registered, with the majority being freshmen and sophomores. Following the Cougars’ seventh-place finish at state in 2021, Emmett Shell and Drew Stapp are the team’s two varsity returnees. Shell, now a junior, finished third at regionals and 26th at the 4A tournament. Stapp, a sophomore, was 35th and 75th. Others to watch, per Weaver, include freshmen Jackson Sessa, Sawyer Bennett, sophomore Brighton Langenegger and senior Ryan Lady. “All upperclassmen have shown significant improvement and incoming freshmen had very solid qualifying rounds,” Weaver reported.
Silver Creek Raptors
Coach: Chris Hackenberg
The Scorecard: Ben Harding is among the best golfers in the state and was the BoCoPreps.com golfer of the year in 2021 after he won the NCAC by 20 strokes and finished third at the 4A state tournament. He is joined in 2022 by a new coach in Hackenberg, who took over for BoCoPreps.com coach of the year Tyler Bishop, as well as 2021 state qualifiers Josh Lurie (23rd), Quinn Lockwood (30th) and varsity player Tyler Plaster. Other names to watch inside a program that placed third in Class 4A a year ago (and is hoping to contend again in 2022) is Nick Horvath and Preston Waller.
Skyline Falcons
Coach: Eric Leick
The Scorecard: The Falcons qualified a team into the 4A state tournament last season, but all those players have now graduated. Perhaps setting the way for future players to come through Leick’s program, Keaton Schell finished 45th at the tournament at City Park Golf Course last fall, while Caden Tapia was 75th and Declan Karch 84th. Without them, Leick said the program has no returning varsity players in 2022. One name to watch, though, will be freshman Jake LaCrosse.
Class 3A
Dawson Mustangs
Coach: Arnie Lewis
The Scorecard: For the first time in more than a decade, Dawson didn’t qualify an individual to the state tournament last fall. It’ll look to re-establish itself in 2022. With its eyes set on winning the Mile High League, which is back in form after not having enough member schools taking part in golf over the last 10 years, co-captains Jimmy Leuchten and Clay Steinfort lead the Mustangs after both finished inside the top 30 in the Metro League. Leuchten was also a state alternate. Meanwhile, junior Charlie Heathwood and sophomore Peter Ernst also return. Others on the team to watch will be sophomore Declan Noonan and freshman Charlie Budacz.
Holy Family Tigers
Coach: Will Wilson
The Scorecard: Holy Family finished second in its region and eighth at the state tournament last fall, led by budding star Rudi Heitz, who finished 12th at state as a sophomore. The now-junior will return for the Tigers as an all-state, all-NCAC and BoCoPreps.com all-region player. He is rejoined by Drake Krommenhoek, who was an honorable mention selection in the league last fall and placed 42nd at state. Also back are Drew Federspiel and Ty Bairrington. Freshman Colton Byrd and incoming junior Wiley St. Germain are new to the team. “We expect to contend for league, regional and state championships,” Wilson said.
Jefferson Academy Jaguars
Coach: Kevin Blount
The Scorecard: The Jaguars have a new coach in Kevin Blount. The school said Blount has more than 20 years of coaching experience, most recently with the baseball program at Prairie View. Blount is a former University of Northern Colorado golfer. He inherits a team that welcomes back senior Jack McLukas, who began the season breaking 80 for the first time in his career. The hope is he can contend for a top-five finish in the Metro League. Others to watch include returning junior Jackson Stillman and program-newbie Hudson Subach.
Peak to Peak Pumas
Coach: Michael Ventimiglia
The Scorecard: The Pumas, a season after finishing seventh in their regional tournament, expect bigger things in 2022. They have four returning varsity players in junior Rasesh Bhandari, the team’s lone state qualifier (77th), as well as juniors George Grady, Jack Winter and Kaden Brooks. They also have a nice group of younger players in freshman Jack Brayman and sophomores Noah Ventimiglia and Om Mathur. Brayman and Ventimiglia proved themselves as strong players on the country’s junior circuit over the summer, the coach said. Mathur had preseason scores in the 70s. “We have high expectations in making it to state as a team with a strong top-five finish,” the fourth-year coach said.
Prospect Ridge Academy Miners
Coach: Joe Taylor
The Scorecard: The Miners’ third-year coach said they have a young team in 2022 after graduating three of their varsity starters from last fall. Their two state qualifiers in 2021 — Caden Koole and BoCoPreps.com all-region player Jason Arbuckle — are gone after Koole finished 14th at state, Arbuckle 34th. Back in the varsity ranks, meanwhile, is senior Max Meador and junior Adam Rolander. Taylor also expects Tyler Dunn to be a “major varsity contributor this year” as well.
Point me to the postseason
The high school golf season, which started at the beginning of the month, will run through the first week of October. Regional tournaments are slated for Sept. 19-23. Those who qualify for the state tournaments will head to City Park Golf Course in Denver (5A), Pelican Lakes Golf Club in Windsor (4A) or Pinehurst Country Club in Denver (3A). State tournaments are scheduled for Oct. 3-4.
