COURTESY PHOTO
MEEKER | For the second time in as many years, Meeker has qualified one Cowboy golfer to the state tournament. The 3A Region 4 tournament in Aspen last weekend was “a tough course,” said head coach Willy Theos. “The tees were set way back and the boys were playing from the tips, the holes were as long as they could get, and the greens were also really tough.” The high scores showed the toughness of the course, “The boys did well and their scores were high but so were everyones. The Cowboys were competitive,” commented Theos.
The regional tournament was made up of 15 four-man teams from across western colorado. Each region qualifies 21 participants to the state tournament so that the two-day state tournament has 84 participants from each class. The 21 consists of eight from the top two teams plus the top 13 players that are not on a qualified team. This year Cortez won the tournament and Aspen took second. The Cowboys’s very own Phil Arnold was tied with three other players for 18th place with his score of 94 and a playoff on the 18th hole took place for the last two of the 13 spots for state. When the dust settled, Phil took the first spot and is headed to Colorado Springs.
Meeker’s regional team this year was Arnold, Nick Massey, Peter Hanks, and Elijah Deming. Arnold had a score of 94, both Deming and Massey had scores of 105 and Hanks had a 112.
“It has been a good year for all the players,” said Theos, “everyone on the team really improved their overall scores, and they were a fun bunch of boys.”
Arnold now has a week of practice to prepare for the state tournament, which is two rounds of 18 holes. This year the tournament is being hosted by Eisenhower Golf Course in Colorado Springs and is on Oct. 7-8.
By TIFFANY JEHOREK | Special to the Herald Times
