The two-day trip down U.S. Highway 550 couldn’t have gone any better for the Grand Junction High School golf team and senior Trevor Olkowski.
One day after firing a 7-under-par 64 and leading the Tigers to victory at Durango’s Hillcrest Golf Club, Olkowski and the Tigers did it again Tuesday at Dalton Ranch Golf Club against a deeper field. The senior’s 3-under par 69 earned him medalist honors, and the team’s top three score total of 218 was tops once again.
“I struggled a bit on the front side, but I changed something in my swing and it clicked for awhile,” Olkowski said.
When it clicked, he rolled off four birdies in a row – five in seven holes – to take the lead on playing partner and defending champion Glen-Michael Mihavetz from Montrose. Mihavetz shot 72 to take third place.
Durango’s Lucas Robbins shot a team-low 75 and came in fifth place individually, while the Demons’ 247 was tied for fifth place overall with Delta. Fruita Monument and Montrose tied for second at 231.
It was the second consecutive day Grand Junction won by double digits and had the top two scorers, as sophomore Canon Olkowski’s 69 Monday and 71 Tuesday were bested by only his older brother.
“Trevor is really starting to play his best at the right time, and a lot of it has to do with his putting,” Tigers head coach Tom LeFebre said. “All of our guys have been sharp. We really like where we’re at heading into regionals because Colorado high school golf comes down to 18 holes.”
Nobody knows that better than the three-time defending regional champion Durango Demons, who will have a new region to conquer this Saturday in Denver. This year, the region will see two teams advance instead of only one, as it has been in years past.
“I think a realistic goal would be for us to shoot for something around 240,” Durango head coach Kirk Rawles said. “We had a few good rounds ruined by one or two bad holes lately. If we can get those big numbers down a bit, it’s very realistic and that’s probably where we’re going to need to be if we want to make it to state.”
Ethan Whidden posted an 85, Caleb Newman had 87, Ryan Genualdi shot 90 and Kobe Szura shot 91 to round out the scoring for the Demons on Tuesday.
The Aztec High School girls won the three-team tournament with Piedra Vista and Kirtland. Kirtland’s Meghan Graff was the girls medalist both days with 82 Monday and 85 Tuesday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
