It is down to the postseason for the Yuma High School boys golf team.
The Indians will put their state tournament hopes on the line, Tuesday, September 21, when they compete in the Class 3A Region 3 Tournament at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins.
It will be a challenging field for the Yuma foursome, as is usually the case. However, head coach Benjamin Weathers explained that this season CHSAA has decided to spread out the top eight golf teams over the four regions.
That meant perennial-power Sterling has been moved to another regional. However, it also means defending 3A champion Classical Academy is in Region 3, along with two of the other top-six teams, Holy Family and Eaton. Plus, Severance is a Top 10 team also in the Region 3 field.
“It’s going to be a crazy tournament,” Weathers said. “I’m looking forward to it, though. We’re getting to the point where we might get some of our guys into the state tournament.”
Each regional will get 21 qualifiers for state, including teams and individuals.
Brekyn Josh, Nash Bridges and John Smith have secured spots for Yuma in the regional tournament. The final spot is between Brodie Castillo, JJ Ward and Andre Baucke. Weathers said all three are playing today, September 16, in the Fort Morgan Invitational. The one that scores best will secure the fourth spot for regional.
Weathers noted that several players have posted strong scores recently, thus the optimism of getting someone into the state field.
Josh, Richardson, Smith and Kyle Schuetz competed for the Indians this past Tuesday in the Northeastern League Championship at Sky Ranch Golf Club in Sterling.
Yuma had a great run, finishing second to Stratton with a 292. Stratton had a 286. Finishing behind Yuma were Wray, Holyoke, Limon, Akron and Liberty.
Josh led Yuma with a 94, while Richardson had a 98, Smith 100 and Schuetz 105.
The Indians competed in the Akron Invitational last Friday at the Washington County Golf Club. They finished second in the team standings behind Sterling with a 284. Sterling won with a 254. Richardson shot an 87 to pace the Indians, while Castillo shot a 97, Smith 100 and Baucke 102.
Yuma shot a 307 in the JV field. Braden Brunk shot a 96, Schuetz 104, Will Noble 107, and Kaleb Jones 108.
“We really haven’t shown all we can do yet,” Weathers said.
He noted the Indians entered Tuesday’s league championships with an outside shot at winning the overall league crown, which accounts for the results in all league tournaments.
If nothing else, if the Indians were able to win the final league tourney, “that would be huge for the kids. It would give them the confidence they need going into regional.”
