Another Montezuma-Cortez golf product has signed to play at the collegiate level.
Panthers senior Chris Black will golf at Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad this fall on an athletic scholarship.
Black, who is also a captain on the Panthers baseball team, chose to play for the Trojans and head coach Rich Holden because of their strong winning tradition, the opportunity to play as a freshman, and the close proximity to Cortez.
Theyve been absolutely kicking butt. Its a great program, so Im really looking forward to going over there and competing with them, Black said.
Trinidad State, the oldest community college in Colorado, competes in Region IX of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The golf program was resurrected in 2005 after being housed away for a few years. Trinidad State has won the past three Region IX championships.
Black was an integral part of the historical Montezuma-Cortez 2010 team that won the Western Slope Region title and placed second at the 4A Colorado state championships. Black placed third at regionals and 34th at state, and was named Second-Team All-Western Slope Conference. He hopes to excel on the golf course in junior college and then move on to play NCAA Division I golf and eventually turn pro.
You always want to keep moving up. Thats the ultimate goal, Black said.
Professional Golfers Association member and Montezuma-Cortez coach Micah Rudosky feels that Black has the natural athletic ability to exceed on the golf course at the college level.
I think thats great for him. The kid has a lot of potential. Hell certainly shine for them. He just has a lot of natural talent, Rudosky said about Black. All the sports hes done, he can do great things without having a 100 percent great fundamentals. He just can create great scores. He didnt come out to play golf until baseball season was over. It just takes him a week to practice and its like he hasnt walked off the course. Hes got the ability. I look forward to see him do well in Trinidad with his grades and golf.
The main focus for Black is on the course now. In the classroom, he wants to major in criminal justice or business management, but is leaning toward criminal justice.
Chris father, Bryan, is a very happy parent that he gets to see his son play college golf.
Im very proud of him, of course. Hes quite an athlete. He always kind of has been. It just makes dad proud to see him continue on, Bryan Black said about Chris. Im excited to get to see him play golf at another level. Hopefully that will continue past Trinidad. Id like to see him go on to a four-year school somewhere. I think its a good fit for him.
Chris is the son of Bryan and Tammy Black. He has a 6-month-old son named Nathan.
Reach Bobby Abplanalp at [email protected].
