After finishing the final tournament of the regular season, the Demons have turned their attention to defending a regional championship.
The Durango High School boys golf team finished fifth Tuesday at Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez. Cory Gillespie led the team with a 7-over-par 79.
Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction won the event at 3-under 69. Fruita Monument’s Troy Dangler finished second at 1 under and helped the Wildcats to the team victory.
It was the final tournament before the Class 4A Western Regional is held Tuesday at Haymaker Golf Club in Steamboat Springs. The demons are the two-time defending regional champions.
“I still don’t feel that we’ve played our best, nor do the guys,” DHS head coach Kirk Rawles said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We just don’t have everyone firing on all cylinders yet.”
Cameron Barnhardt shot an 81 on Tuesday, and Cy Spicer and Eric Walker each shot 82.
Barnhardt, Gillespie, Spicer and Walker will represent the Demons at the regional tournament. The same team won last year’s regional, and Gillespie is aiming for a fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament to close his high school career.
Rawles watched Gillespie all day Tuesday, as the coach tries to get his star senior on track. Gillespie has had an up-and-down season after undergoing elbow surgery after last season.
“We kind of got Cory back on track a little bit,” Rawles said. “I wanted to spend some time with him before regionals next week and to get him working on some things.”
Lucas Robbins rounded out the varsity team with an 87 on Tuesday.
Montrose and Piedra Vista tied for third with scores of 236. The Demons shot 242 as a team.
It was the final tournament of the year for the talented junior varsity team at Durango. Robby Grogan shot 82; Kyle Pritchard scored 83; Ryan Genauldi finished with 87; Caleb Newman and Kobe Szura each shot 88; Luke Napier carded a 97; and Steven Wyman signed for a 97.
Rawles was proud of the performances from his young players this season and said they are excited to fill the shoes of this year’s departing seniors.
But, first, it is all business leading up to the regional tournament. The Demons will travel Friday to Steamboat Springs to get some practice in on Haymaker before the Tuesday event.
Montrose and Steamboat Springs figure to be the toughest competition for the Demons again this year. If the Demons win, all four boys will qualify for state. Otherwise, they will need to have three or four place somewhere in the top nine or 12 to qualify as individuals to be able to bring an entire team to state.
“The guys are all gamers. I think they will step up and try their hardest to make it happen,” Rawles said. “Cy and Cameron shot 79s (Monday) and Cory shot 79 (Tuesday), and Eric has been consistent all year. Hopefully everyone matches up next week and we can get it done.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
