Depth has been a calling card for the Panther boys golf program.
In their second home tournament of the season, M-CHS completely shuffled their top-four finishing order, yet the end result stayed the same – another team victory.
Head coach Todd Plewe’s group added another piece of hardware to the trophy case with an 11-stroke victory over Durango and the rest of the 10-team field at Conquistador Golf Course on Thursday. With September’s regional tournament in Alamosa just a few weeks away, the Panthers appear poised to be a major factor yet again for a regional team title.
Leading the way in their most recent exploits, junior Vince Lopez posted the top round of the tournament with a +1 round of 73, edging out Durango’s Bailey Burke by a single stroke. The win adds to a growing resume for the Panthers junior, whose top-25 performances at state in both of his first two attempts have placed him as a regular near or at the top of the leader board in every event this season.
Where the Panthers really created distance with the rest of the field, however, came from the stream of strong results that followed Lopez into the clubhouse.
Classmate Gavin Frost followed up his breakout round in his runner-up finish from the Panthers home opener with another solid round, earning a tie for fifth-place with a round of 78 (+6).
Senior Airoughn Morris has continued to elevate his game over the past couple of seasons, and put together another consistent round, coming in as the final scoring Panther on the afternoon with a round of 80 (+8) and a ninth-place finish.
Fellow Class of ’24 golfer and captain Kaden Huff added an 84, while freshman Sawyer Muhonen fired an 87 to round out the Panthers finishing under 90.
Junior Frankey Montoya (95), freshman Cruz Plewe (104), junior Robert Smith (107), along with sophomores Trace Hartsoe (109) and Kabryn Hartman (119) capped the day for M-CHS.
Durango claimed second in the tournament with six golfers in the top 12, led by Burke’s stellar day. The Demons added a 76 from junior Owen Muraro and 78 from senior Henry Howe, just ahead of sophomore Wyatt Lafferty (81), junior Rosario Rypkema (81), and senior Eli Holden (82).
M-CHS looks forward to a week away from competition to allow themselves to prepare for the final big week of regular season tournaments. The Panthers head to Durango for a tournament at Dalton Ranch on Tuesday, Sept. 12, followed by a trip to Pagosa Springs on the following day. Regional action awaits on Sept. 18-19 from Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa.
