The Montezuma-Cortez boys golf team had its first tournament last week on Thursday at Cedaredge, after only three days of practice.
While some golfers were still shaking off the summer rust, sophomore Cristoffer Rudosky appeared to be in mid-season form.
Rudosky led the field, shooting a 71 and winning the tournament, which included 14 schools.
With junior Braden Keetch shooting a 92 and sophomore Luke Gross finishing with a 102, the Panthers finished sixth in the team standings with a total score of 265.
Forrest Gomez and Isaiah Wright rounded out the M-CHS group with 113 and 114 finishes.
The Panthers next meet was on Monday at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction, and with the Pinto Bean tournament held over the weekend at Conquistador Golf Course, the team was unable to practice.
Instead, they held their fundraiser during the Pinto Bean and raised money by setting up the driving range, washing clubs and spotting balls on the course.
The money raised will go to help the cost of food and travel, which came in handy during their trip to Grand Junction on Monday.
The Bookcliff tournament included a bigger field with larger schools, and the Panthers teed off with Durango, Montrose and Basalt.
Without practicing since their previous meet and after working at the Pinto Bean all weekend, the fatigue of the M-CHS golfers showed.
“I think we were all just a little worn out,” said coach Micah Rudosky. “So it was kind of a tough day for us.”
Cristoffer Rudosky again led the Panthers with a 78, finishing the tournament in 12th, and Keetch, Gross and Gomez rounded out the team score with 115, 118 and 140.
Although the team finished in the bottom half of the 16 participating teams, Coach Rudosky believes the long setup and difficulty of the course will lead to improvement.
“The rough was a good test,” he said.
The Panthers will have a busy week next week.
M-CHS starts school on Wednesday, and the team will head to Tiara Rado in Fruita on Tuesday, Delta on Wednesday and Montrose on Thursday.
“That’ll be nice for these kids having three in a row,” Rudosky said. “Playing in that competition, that’s going to be good for them to get experience.”