The final two golf tournaments before the regional tournament, which took place on Tuesday and will be reported in the View next week, happened early last week.
On September 12 the league tournament took place at Hollydot. Swink came away with the championship shooting 249 as a team. The individual medalist was Damien Baca of Las Animas who shot a 75.
Branson Burbidge finished highest for Rye among the 30 golfers, placing 5th with a score of 88. Nicolas Goldberg and Eli Guzman both shot a 99 which was good for 14th place tie for the two Thunderbolts.
Jay Graham placed 18th with a score of 103 and Anthony Hutcheson was 21st with a score of 109.
As a team Rye placed 4th of the seven league teams with a score of 291.
“ This was a fun tournament to host for us at our home course,” shared Coach Ian Martinez McGraw. “We saw some great talent within our league that will help prepare us for regionals. We are excited for this final stretch and seeing our boys compete.”
The next day, September 13, RHS traveled to Walking Stick in Pueblo for the East Invitational.
Pueblo West grabbed the team title with a score of 225 and PW’s Preston Allen won the gold medal with a score of 72.
Burbidge again led the Rye golfers with a score of 86, good for 14th out of the 54 golfers in attendance. Graham was 29th with a score of 97 and Hutcheson was 39th with a score of 103.
Graham finished 47th with a 109. As a team Rye placed 8th out of 13 teams in attendance.
“ This was a great test going into regionals,” assessed Martinez-McGraw. “We played a tougher course with some tough teams at Walking Stick which is going to be comparable to Cattails where regionals will be held. I believe our boys will be ready and we are looking forward to regionals. “
Regionals were held in Alamosa at Cattails Golf Course.