Basalt boys golf wins in Aspen as teams jockey for early

News News | Aug 15, 2023

[email protected]

In recent years, the Basalt High School boys golf team has followed a similar path through the season. That is, the Longhorns start hot before sputtering down the stretch.

But it seems this year’s group has developed an appetite for that final course and hopes it will pay off as the fall moves along.

“It’s a good group. They are working hard. A lot of them have worked hard over the summer on their games or at least put in some time. We feel pretty good,” BHS coach Joey Chandra said. “We have a lot of experience coming back. The boys are hungry, and they are ready. We’ve got some good competition on the team.”

Chandra, the assistant professional at Aspen Glen Club, is in his first season as the team’s head coach after being approached for the job this past offseason by the former coaching staff, led by Travis Stewart. The season officially got underway last week and on Monday it was Aspen High School’s turn to host with the Skier Invitational at Aspen Golf Club.

While it’s too early to get too excited, the Longhorns’ experience and depth was on display as they held on to win Monday’s tourney with a collective 242, besting the host Skiers by seven strokes (249), with Colorado Academy finishing third (251).

BHS junior Jackson Stewart, son of former coach Travis Stewart, finished Monday’s round at 77 (6-over) to tie for first place with Steamboat’s Michael Dinapoli. There was a three-way tie for third place between Basalt senior Garrett Exelbert, Colorado Academy’s Colgin Youssi, and Vail Mountain’s Tiki Jaffe, all with 78.

Aspen did play without one of its expected top golfers, senior Matthew Cairncross, who withdrew because of illness.

“Growing up wrestling, you always wrestled better when you wrestled someone really good in practice,” Chandra said. “It’s the same in golf. You play against somebody really good in practice all the time and it creates competition. I think it creates good team spirit, too, and keeps the boys hungry and keeps them wanting to win.”

Basalt looks to keep this momentum going into the postseason. BHS was a disappointing eighth at the Class 3A state tournament a year ago, despite Exelbert sneaking into the top 10. In 2021, the Longhorns finished last (13th) among the scoring teams at state, and in 2020 didn’t have enough individuals to record a team score.

A team with a knack for finishing strong is Aspen. The Skiers won the 3A state championship in both 2018 and 2021, not to mention Nic Pevny’s individual title in 2020, under the guidance of longtime coach Mary Woulfe. The hope is that this year’s slow start can lead to similar results at the end for AHS, like it has so many times before.

“We’ve had tough regular seasons where we don’t necessarily play as good as we can and we just got to do what we can to learn from those experiences,” AHS junior Ryan Rigney said. “This is our home course. We should win. This is our thing. But it’s great, regardless of how we did. We were paired with Basalt, and it was fantastic. It was a blast.”

Rigney admitted playing at home came with some added pressure, and maybe the Skiers could have handled it better. Rigney, who is firmly entrenched as one of the team’s top golfers, settled for an 85 on Monday, tying for 10th place alongside senior teammate Sasha Forman. AHS senior Nik Kuhn was among the bigger surprises on the day, shooting 79 to finish in sixth place.

Aspen finished fifth at state last season — Vail Mountain won the 3A title — with then-senior Carson Miller posting the team’s best score of 150 (72-78) to finish in ninth place. Rigney is the only returning member of Aspen’s four-man state team from 2022, having shot 163 (82-81) to finish tied for 42nd place.

“While age-wise it’s an older team, it’s a relatively new group to competition. … I’m excited to see it, because everyone is embracing it and doing well and learning everything they can in these early tournaments,” said Rigney, who was less excited about his round on Monday. “It happens. Nothing I can do about it now, but just overthinking and overswinging. I got in my head and didn’t really think about the bigger picture.”

The Skiers will get the chance to regroup on Tuesday with Basalt hosting a tournament at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale. For the Longhorns, it’s another chance to build momentum as teams eye the regional tournament, which will be hosted Sept. 18 by Delta at Devil’s Thumb Golf Course.

“We are excited to be at home. We are bringing two teams tomorrow, so we are pretty pumped for that,” Chandra said. “Give some of the other kids some experience, as well as it’s our home course, so we are ready to win. The boys are hungry, and they will be ready to go. I think it will be fun. I know I’m having fun already this season. I think the team is, too. That’s the important part.”

The Class 3A state tournament is scheduled for Oct. 2-3 at RainDance National in Windsor, just outside of Fort Collins.

[email protected]

Aug 15, 2023

While it’s too early to get too excited, the Longhorns’ experience and depth was on display as they held on to win Monday’s tourney with a collective 242, besting the host Skiers by seven strokes (249), with Colorado Academy finishing third (251).

Aug 6, 2023

Aug 3, 2023

Aug 3, 2023