Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The golf season has come down to the final 54 holes.
The Aspen High School boys golf team will host its Class 3A Region 4 tournament Wednesday at Aspen Golf Club, with a spot in next month’s 3A state tournament on the line. It’s been a touch more than a decade since AHS last hosted its regional tournament, a stretch that includes 10 straight regional championships.
The Skiers should be the favorites to keep that streak going Wednesday, but it’s hardly a lock. After winning its first state championship last fall, AHS graduated most of that group and enters this regional with a lot of unknown, outside of maybe Jack Pevny. The senior finished fourth at state last year and has been a key piece of the AHS varsity team most of his career.
Joining Pevny on Aspen’s four-man regional team Wednesday will be his younger brother, sophomore Nic Pevny, as well as junior John Hall and sophomore Lucas Lee. The Skiers have been plagued by inconsistent play throughout the season, but have shown plenty of upside. I’d say there is an equal chance both regional and state go horribly wrong or incredibly well. I have no guess on which it will be.
Basalt also will compete at Aspen’s regional Wednesday. The Longhorn foursome will be comprised of junior Tyler Sims, senior Blake Exelbert and sophomores Kyle Murray and Braden Exelbert. BHS finished sixth at state last fall, although only Blake Exelbert and Sims played.
The Longhorns have finished this season on a bit of a hot streak and could be a sneaky pick to possibly win the Aspen regional, if all goes well. There’s no reason the two upperclassmen can’t vie for a top-10 finish come state, either.
The first golfers are scheduled to tee off around 9 a.m. Wednesday, with golfers going off from both the first and 10th tees. The final pairing, which generally features the top players, is tentatively set to tee off from the first hole at 10:39 a.m. That threesome includes Jack Pevny, Sims and Montezuma-Cortez’s Thayer Plewe.
The second-to-last threesome, who tees off at 10:30 a.m., includes Nic Pevny, Blake Exelbert and Blake Keetch, again of Montezuma-Cortez.
The 3A state golf tournament is Oct. 7-8 at Eisenhower Golf Course near Colorado Springs.
Homecoming Week
I want to make a quick note about this being homecoming week for both Aspen and Basalt. The Skiers in particular have some fun things going down Wednesday that you should know about. On top of their usual bonfire, they are hosting their own version of the mac and cheese festival where $5 gets you in. Both start at 6 p.m. near Paradise Bakery in downtown Aspen. Aspen also is hosting a powderpuff football game at 4:45 p.m. at Wagner Park on Wednesday.
Rankings Update
Not much has changed this week in the CHSAANow.com media/coaches poll. Basalt softball is now No. 4 in 3A and will host Aspen in a doubleheader Tuesday. Roaring Fork is No. 4 in boys soccer, while Basalt football held steady at No. 9 in 2A. Rifle and Delta football, who play in the WSL with Basalt and Aspen, are now 1-2 in the state.