For the first time since 2012, the Montezuma-Cortez golf team sent multiple members to the state tournament.
On Monday and Tuesday in Aurora, Cris Rudosky and Blake Keetch teed off at Saddle Rock Golf Course for the Class 3A State Championship.
It was the pair’s first time competing in a state tournament and their first time at Saddle Rock – aside from their practice rounds on Saturday and Sunday.
And although head coach Micah Rudosky said that Cris had a few three putts and Keetch occasionally struggled with the course length, he was pleased with their play.
Rudosky shot a 76 on Monday and followed it with a 78 on Tuesday to finish 10 strokes over par and in 13th place. And Keetch shot an 87 on day one and an 89 on the second day to finish 32 over to tie for 52nd.
“[Cristoffer] played nice,” said Rudosky. “But in order to win and score well you’ve got to chip and putt, and he didn’t quite have that. But we were still so proud of him to stay in there like he did…And for Blake to get out there and play that long course as a freshman, I thought he did well.”
Looking ahead, Rudosky is excited about the future for his golf program. His son Cris is junior and Keetch is just a freshman, and after gaining valuable experience at the state tournament this year, Rudosky expects both to return next year, and his goal is to qualify a whole team to state.
“I feel like if we get a third guy with Cristoffer and Blake we can win as a team and take a team,” he said. “And ultimately, that’s the goal next year, to see if we can’t get the other guys to step up a little bit, because I know that Cristoffer and Blake are going to step up.”
“They’re going to play better, I truly believe, next year,” he continued. “Blake is just getting so much stronger, Cristoffer the same way. And they have a little bit of fire in them to go out there and work on it and get right back in there next year.”