Cory Gillespie and Bo Ward experienced state tournament golf last season.
This year, the whole team will get to join in on the fun.
The Durango High School boys golf team qualified for the CHSAA Class 4A Boys Golf State Championships by winning its regional Tuesday at Gypsum Creek Golf Course.
The Demons shot a 228, two strokes clear of second-place Steamboat Springs.
Trevor Bogus finished second in the tournament with a 74, Gillespie fourth with a 76, Bo Ward seventh with a 78 and Cameron Barnhardt 17th with an 82.
It’s the first time DHS has won the regional to qualify as a team in head coach Kirk Rawles’ five-year tenure.
The Demons last qualified four players for state in 2005, according to longtime former head coach Kipp Schreiner.
“When we needed a break, they got it,” Rawles said. “When we needed a putt, they made it.”
Montezuma-Cortez’s Jakob Rudosky won the individual tournament with an even-par 72.
The Demons’ victory came on the heels of a second-place finish at the Southwestern League Championships and a wave of momentum after their success at home at Hillcrest and Dalton Ranch golf clubs.
“We were all confident going into it; everyone stepped up,” said Bogus, son of Mike and Wendi Bogus. “It was just our time.”
Durango finished sixth out of 12 teams at Gypsum Creek on Aug. 14, and Rawles credits his assistant coaches Jim Foltz and Kermit Barrett for helping prepare the team for the same course the second time around.
Bogus shot an 89 when the Demons played the course in August and cut 15 strokes off his score in a month.
Barnhardt and Bogus will play in the state tournament for the first time, joining the Demons’ two veterans.
State is Oct. 1-2 at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.
“We already hit our goal of regionals,” Rawles said. “State is whipped cream on top.”
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
