John Hanson/For the Summit Daily News
Following its second-place finish in the team’s first golf tournament of the year in Cedaredge, the Summit High School boys golf team faced a bigger challenge in week two of the 2022 golf season.
On Tuesday, Aug. 9, the Tigers played 18 holes at Murphy Creek Golf Course for the Cherry Creek Invitational. Unlike the Tigers’ first tournament of the season, the Cherry Creek Invitational featured a more competitive field, with 21 teams present at the tournament, 14 of which are from the 5A classification.
Head coach Ryne Scholl knew heading into the competition that the larger field was going to pose a challenge for the team, but he was hopeful that the Tigers would finish within the middle of the pack based on the team’s performance at the Cedaredge Invitational.
The Tigers sent eight boys to the tournament, and each played exceptionally well on Murphy Creek, which was designed by Ken Kavanaugh.
After not playing in Summit’s first tournament of the season, sophomore transfer student Tyler Short led the way for the Tigers. Short managed his play well throughout the 18-hole course in order to be the first athlete on the Summit boys golf team to break 80 on the season, shooting just four strokes over par for a score of 76.
Short’s score barely missed out on placing him within the top 10 overall in the tournament, but it set the tone for the rest of the team.
“It was great to have Tyler participate,” Scholl said. “He came out as our medalist, and I think he shot his personal best ever at the tournament.”
Following Short was senior Rece Greff, who also did not play in Summit’s first tournament. In his 2022 season debut, Greff shot nine over par to earn a score of 81.
“(Greff) started off with a triple bogey, so to shoot 81 with a triple bogey says a lot about his character, his resilience, and forgetting about that hole and moving on,” Scholl said.
John Hanson/For the Summit Daily News
Summit was not quite done yet as two other Tigers shot in the mid 80s to brighten the Tigers chances in the team race. Junior Max Kunzek beat his score from last week with a score of 84, and sophomore Jace Melby shot 86.
Rounding out the performances for Summit were sophomore Evan Wischmeyer, junior Wyatt Willis, senior Brody Pohlman and sophomore Zander Reid. The quartet of Tigers recorded scores of 94, 95, 98 and 106, respectively.
The close grouping of scores by mostly underclassmen athletes displays both the youth and depth of the program.
“It’s awesome,” Scholl said of the team’s youth and depth. “It’s different from what we’ve had the last couple of years. We have always had a couple of stars, but right now there is a group at the top that is quickly followed by a group behind them. That’s exciting as a coach and makes it challenging as a coach to give everyone a chance.”
The Tigers placed 14th out of the 21 teams present at the Cherry Creek Invitational with a total score of 243. The Tigers were the third 4A team at the tournament with only Kent Denver High School, a 3A school, beating out Summit. Mullen High School, a 4A team, placed first with a standalone score of 217 while Littleton High School placed 13th with a score of 242.
“Kind of middle of the pack, but we were one of the top performing teams outside of Mullen, who might be a statistical outlier,” Scholl said. “I thought we did great. We keep just getting a little bit better as a team.”
The Summit boys golf team will compete in its next tournament on Monday, Aug. 15, when it travels to the Aspen Golf Club in Aspen. The Tigers will expect a smaller field compared to the Cherry Creek Invitational, but will still face many formidable competitors.
Summit will also look to beat their hosts, Aspen, which the team beat by two places at the Cherry Creek Invitational. Following the tournament in Aspen, the team will compete in a tournament the very next day in Basalt on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
“It will be our first overnight of the year, so it will be a fun trip to take with the four or five kids,” Scholl said. “I am looking forward to seeing them be challenged, going to face more of the teams that will likely be in our regional.”