Playing at tournaments in Grand Junction on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, the Montezuma-Cortez High School cracked the Top 10 twice, thanks to solid rounds from senior Cris Rudosky, sophomore Blake Keetch and freshman Tim Wyman.
So good was the team’s play in Grand Junction, in fact, that Panthers head coach Micah Rudosky said that qualifying the team for the Colorado Class 3A Tournament was not beyond the realm of possibility.
“We’re playing very well so far this season,” Rudosky said. “Our top two players, (Keetch and Rudosky), are solid, and they are going to be state contenders. Our freshman, Tim Wyman, is also putting up some nice numbers, and he’s getting better and better every week.”
Opening this week’s tournament play at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction on Aug. 28, the Panthers finished eighth in the 16-team field.
During the intensely competitive tournament that featured several Class 5A teams, Rudosky fired a score of 75, Keetch shot a score of 78, and Wyman shot 96.
M-CHS followed up its performance at Bookcliff Country Club with an even better performance at the Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction on Aug. 29, where Rudosky Keetch both shot 73 and Wyman shot 90.
Justin Bruner and Jens Jorgenson also competed in both tournaments for M-CHS and were lauded by Rudosky for their improvement and effort.
“Cris has shot in the 70s in every tournament that he has played this season, and his highest score this year has been 75,” said Rudosky. “His scoring average has been just a little bit over par.
Blake struggled in a couple of tournaments, but in Grand Junction, he has been pushing.”
With a tournament at the Bridges Golf Club in Montrose on Sept. 6 and a tournament in Monte Vista on Sept. 8 remaining on the Panthers’ regular season schedule, Rudosky is hoping that his players will continue to improve in preparation for the regionals and state tournaments.
“We keep getting better every week, and I expect us to play well in our last two regular season tournaments and at Regionals,” Rudosky said.
“We’re all just going to keep working hard and see what happens.”
