Aspen High boys golf hopeful of a return to form as season gets underway
Skiers will host regional tournament at Snowmass Club
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
When compared to recent years, last fall was a step back in many ways for the Aspen High School (AHS) boys golf team. And while returning to those championship heights is certainly the goal, the burden is pretty light for this year’s crop of golfers.
“We have a really good chance this year,” AHS junior Houston Benvenuto said. “Our goal is to have one of the best seasons that Aspen High School golf has had, so it’s more of a goal and less pressure. There is always going to be pressure, but we have a lot of guys that are helping keep our confidence up.”
While all other fall sports have to wait until this coming Monday, Aug. 12, to officially start practice, the golfers got going this week, with AHS holding tryouts Monday and Tuesday at Aspen Golf Club. The season gets underway Thursday with a tournament at Cedaredge.
“It’s a really exciting group of kids,” said longtime AHS coach Mary Woulfe. “We’ve got some young talent coming up. It was really, really hard to see where the cut line would be for this varsity team.”
The Skiers qualified three players through to last year’s state tournament after a third-place team showing at regionals. The 2023 Class 3A final, held at RainDance National in Windsor, was forgettable for Aspen, with AHS finishing ninth as a team, 76 strokes back of state champion Resurrection Christian.
With Sasha Forman and Matthew Cairncross having graduated, the Skiers’ lone returning state qualifier from a year ago is senior Ryan Rigney. He was a modest T34th at state as a junior but is expected back this fall as one of the team’s best golfers. He and junior Leo Roennau battled it out during tryouts this week, with the latter just edging out the veteran by a couple of strokes over the two days.
“It definitely meant a lot to me because I’ve always been trying to hang and keep up with him. Just being able to do that meant a lot,” Roennau said of his battle with Rigney. “I was definitely worried, but it’s nice to feel that my swing is getting better. I’ve been going through some rough patches over the summer, but there have been a couple of glimpses, which is nice. Having that happen at tryouts was definitely a big help for the confidence.”
Woulfe sees Rigney, Roennau, and Benvenuto making for a strong threesome this fall for the Skiers. Benvenuto had been the fourth member of last year’s regional team at Devil’s Thumb in Delta but just missed out on qualifying individually for state.
“Leo and Houston have been 100% focused on golf all summer. Ryan is coming off a family vacation, so that pushed him a little bit,” Woulfe said of tryouts. “All three of them are going to be very competitive against one another all season but still trying to do what’s best for the team. I think it’s exciting that we’ve got three strong players, and then two youngsters coming up right behind them.”
The battle for the fourth spot, as it stands entering the season anyway, is between sophomores Colton Jones and Oliver Pullis. There is some varsity experience between the pair, and they’ll get first crack at playing with the main group, although there are plenty of other players within striking distance of being in the mix.
Woulfe said around 30 players took part in tryouts.
“It felt pretty good, and it’s an honor to be playing with these guys like Leo and Ryan and Houston,” Jones said of making varsity. “I’m excited to be on this team and to see what this team can do. If we keep going, who knows what can happen.”
Finding a strong fourth golfer is often key to succeeding in postseason play, as it provides an important security blanket should one of the top three have a bad round. At state, only three individual scores count toward a team’s overall score.
And being that safety net could be the job of Jones or Pullis, should either lock down that fourth spot.
“I’m happy I was able to make it. It was a great opportunity to be able to play with golfers that are better than me and I’m excited to go play Cedaredge,” Pullis said. “I’ve played with these kids for a while, so I know our abilities and how well we can play. I’m excited.”
After Cedaredge on Thursday, AHS will host its annual home tournament a bit earlier this season, coming up as soon as Monday at Aspen Golf Club. Then Basalt, which opens its season on Monday in Aspen, will host its home tournament on Tuesday at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale.
As for regionals this fall, they are coming back to the Roaring Fork Valley as Snowmass Club will host on Monday, Sept. 30, in a rarity for the mostly private course.
It’s an exciting prospect for the AHS players.
“Snowmass Club is me and Ryan’s home course,” Roennau said. “I’ve been trying to bring Houston out as much as possible. So just knowing how to play that course means a lot. If you are new to that course, you definitely don’t know a lot of the tricks.”
The Class 3A state tournament will be held this Oct. 7 and 8 at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo.
The Skiers won the 3A boys golf state title in both 2018 and 2021, not to mention Nic Pevny’s individual title as a junior in 2020.
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