On to state!

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director
Talented underclassmen led charge to finish 2nd at regionals and qualify for the Colorado 4A tournament.
LAFAYETTE – “You don’t have to win. You have to get in.”

And Jerry Koehler was correct. His Mullen Mustangs didn’t win on a brilliant, sun-splashed, late-summer Tuesday at Indian Peaks Golf Course in Class 4A’s Region 4, but the head coach’s group finished in second place, good enough to qualify for the Colorado tournament from Oct. 1-2.

“Very pleased, very pleased,” Koehler said.

And why not? With three sophomores and a junior, Mullen totaled a 1-over-par team score of 217 over the 6,680-yard, par-72 layout. Tenth-graders Mario Dino and Rhett Johnson each shot even-par 72. Junior Cole Reister came in at 1-over 73 and sophomore T.J. Hicks turned in 7-over 79.

In a season in which the Mustangs virtually took turns heading the team, Koehler has been particularly pleased.

“All around, everything was working,” the coach said. “Everybody has contributed, everybody has pulled their weight. It has been awesome.”

Truth is, the Mustangs thought they could have done better. In finishing three strokes behind regional champion Montrose, each player felt they left more than a few strokes out on the suburban track, mostly on the greens.

Dino, for example, went 37-35 after bogeying the first two holes. However, the rest of his round was mostly clean and included consecutive birdies on the 559-yard par-5 No. 11 and the par-14 12th.

“It was good,” he said. “After I bogeyed the first two holes, that got me kind of panicked a bit, but I evened it out and shot well.

“I was pleased with my game. I just wanted to make a few more putts.”

Johnson called his 36-36 “up and down, but I had no major errors. I just missed some shots, but I recovered.”

He also came home in birdie-birdie, making a 4 on the 527-yatrd No. 17 and a 3 on the 412-yard 18th. Johnson said he had a big day driving “and I just missed a few shots right.”

Reister made the turn at 1-under 35 with birdies on Nos. 4 and 6, and came in at 3-over 38 despite racking up all 4s and 5s.

“I should have had a lot more birdies,” he said. “I had so many putts not drop, not as many as I would have liked. I should have had at least five-to-six birdies, honestly. I hit the ball really well, just couldn’t get the putts to drop.”

Hicks had it the toughest, but his play was still strong – he went 40-39, stung mostly by double bogeys on Nos. 9 and 17.

“I didn’t play very well, but the team had my back,” he said. “I couldn’t make any puts. I would play a hole great and not make a putt, but that’s all right.”

Plus, he said, it was about the team advancing and what happened on Tuesday “is the best part of team golf.”

Overall, Mountain-area players were as significant as they were dominant in the regional. Montrose, which won with a 2-under 214, had two players tie for medalist at 3-under 69, sophomore Jordan Jennings and junior Micah Stangebye. Plus, Steamboat Springs, which ended at 219, had senior Jack Rotermund and junior Tommy Henninger tie for third with Dino and Johnson at even par.

Reister finished seventh and Hicks tied for 14th.

There will be plenty of time and opportunity to prepare for the final tournament, which will be held at The Club at Flying Horse in Colorado Springs.

Everything that has had to happen for the Mustangs actually has occurred, in addition to other aspects that fell into place. They were young. They improved. They won a few medalist and team honors during the regular season of the Centennial League. They had assorted players perform well as others struggled and vice-versa. They prepared for the postseason and turned in multiple, solid rounds. And they qualified.

Now, Dino said, “it’s on to state.”
Back