BROOMFIELD | A pair of Aurora boys golfers earned their first trips to the Class 5A state tournament by making their way through the Northern Regional Thursday.
Senior Joe Slocum — one of only three Overland players in the field — tied for 11th-place with a 6-over-par 78 at Broadlands G.C. to earn a spot in the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 5A state tournament at Murphy Creek G.C., where he’ll be joined by Cherokee Trail freshman Bradley Scalia.
Scalia finished with a 7-over 79 to tie for 13th place to earn the only state spot for Cherokee Trail — the third-place finisher in the Centennial League — which managed an eighth-place team result with a score of 245.
A triple bogey on hole No. 3 put Scalia in a tough position early, but he rebounded with a birdie two holes later. Through 13 holes, Scalia sat at plus-7, but parred his last five holes to hold his position.
Sophomore Ji Woo Jang, the Cougars’ top finisher in most tournaments this season, finished with an 11-over 83, the same score shot by junior Mitchell Nevin, a 5A state qualifier in 2012.
Slocum had a very strong start to his regional round, as he birdied hole No. 5 to go 1-under and finished the front nine even. He was at 1-over through 12 holes, but a triple bogey on the par 5 hole No. 13 and two more bogeys in the final five holes brought him in at 6-over.
The Trailblazers finished in 13th place, followed by Aurora Central in 14th.
The Trojans were led by R-Ron Fisher, who carded a 114.
Led by individual medalist Michael Tait, Columbine won the regional team title and automatic team berth in the state tournament, while runner-up Heritage edged Fairview and Monarch by one stroke to earn the other.
2013 5A NORTHERN REGIONAL BOYS GOLF TOURNAMENT
Sept. 19 at Broadlands G.C. (par 72)
Team scores: 1. Columbine 225, 2. Heritage 229, T3. Fairview 230, T3. Monarch 230, 5. Rampart 241, 6. Mountain Vista 242, 7. Chatfield 244, 8. CHEROKEE TRAIL 245, 9. Greeley West 255, 10. Littleton 263, 11. Northglenn 273, 12. Liberty 274, 13. OVERLAND 344, 14. AURORA CENTRAL 371
State qualifying individuals: 1. Michael Tait (Columbine) 72; T2. Ben Tarasiewicz (Rampart) 73; T2. Cooper Taylor (Monarch) 73; T2. Hunter Lee (Heritage) 73; T5. Cason McHose (Fairview) 76; T5. Greg Shelton (Columbine) 76; T5. Reese Leiker (Heritage) 76; T8. Daniel Pearson (Fairview) 77; T8. Jackson Vacek (Fairview0 77; T8. Marcus Tait (Columbine) 77; T11. JOE SLOCUM (OVERLAND) 78; T11. Alex Mautz (Monarch) 78; T13. BRADLEY SCALIA (CHEROKEE TRAIL) 79; T13. Josh Hill (Monarch) 79; T15. Alan Berry (Chatfield) 80; T15. Austin Hardman (Mountain Vista) 80; T15. Chris Raap (Mountain Vista) 80; T15. Jackson Elliott (Monarch) 80; T15. Kevin Wohlfarth (Fairview) 80; T15. Nick Leibold (Heritage) 80
AURORA TEAM RESULTS
Cherokee Trail (245): 13. Bradley Scalia 79 (5A state qualifier), T26. Ji Woo Jang 83, T26. Mitchell Nevin 83, T32. Zach Goldsmith 85; Overland (344): T11. Joe Slocum 78 (5A state qualifier), 51. Aaron Nicholson 127, Cole Kecuweski 139; Aurora Central (371): 50. R-Ron Fisher 114, 52. Vinh Pham 128, 53. David Gonzales-Beltran 129, 55. James Evans 149
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel