LITTLETON | Will Farber finished his prep golf career in style, but it could have been even better.
The Regis Jesuit senior nearly walked off the course Oct. 6 at the end of the final round of the Class 5A boys golf state tournament with an eagle, only to miss the cup by inches.
Farber ultimately settled for a par on Hole No. 18 at Columbine Country Club, but it still ended a special finish that got him into the top 10 in the final individual standings. With a two-day total of plus-4 148, Farber easily led Aurora’s 11 qualifiers.
A tightly-bunched leaderboard at the end of the first day of play on the challenging course saw Farber tied for 39th place, but just seven strokes out of the lead.
He proceeded to put together one of only four final rounds that were under par, as he finished with a 1-under 71 that rocketed him up the leaderboard.
With an eagle on Hole No. 8, a birdie on No. 2 and whole slew of pars, Farber ended up in a colossal seven-way tie for eighth place in the final standings. He shot the same score as Lutheran’s Gavin Pittman and Van Simmons, Castle View’s Kai Jorde, Arvada West’s Dylan Boyce, Valor Christian’s Easton Haas, Broomfield’s Max Music and Boulder’s Pierce Johnson.
Farber — who made a large rise from his 16th place finish last season — was the only returning qualifier for coach Craig Rogers’ Regis Jesuit team, which finished in a tie for 10th place.
Sophomores Austin Katzer and Parker Hutchison finished tied for 55th and 62nd, respectively, in support for the Raiders, while junior Sam Neagle shot eight strokes better in his second round to move up from 84th after one day to 77th.
The Aurora area’s top team finish came from Cherokee Trail, which had a streak of three straight season as either the 5A state champion or runner-up snapped.
The Cougars (who are in their first season under Michael Rogers as head coach) graduated four-year program staples and Division I commitments Brayden Forte and Dalton Sisneros and returned only sophomore Jeffrey Chen from the winning team. Also in the mix was senior Anthony Chen, who was part of the runner-up teams in 2023 and 2024.
With the arrival of Lutheran — last season’s 3A state champion — in 5A, the competition intensified. Cherokee Trail went into the final day down just three strokes to Lutheran, but ultimately finished behind in fourth place.
Rival Cherry Creek gave the Centennial League a third straight championship with Lutheran in second, while Arvada West had a strong final day to best the Cougars by two strokes for third.
Jeffrey Chen shot plus-1 73 on the final day for a two-day total of 149 that put in a tie for 15th to lead way for Cherokee Trail. In his third and final state appearance, Anthony Chen — who shot 152 over two days, highlighted by a 1-over 73 in the opening round — finished a career-best 28th after he was 41st in 2024 and 43rd in 2023.
Sophomore Jack Brenning and senior Anthony Garreffa — both first-time qualifiers — finished in ties for 55th and 62nd, respectively.
Grandview had two individual qualifiers in senior Dominik Fedotov and junior Sam Silver and both made their third career appearances.
Silver’s previous best state finish was a tie for 58th last season and he better that significantly with a two-day total of 153 that tied him for 30th. Fedotov’s best career finish of 46th came last season and he capped his career with a 161 that put him 67th.
Smoky Hill senior Reece Nuwash — a three-time state qualifier — had five birdies on the opening day to get into a tie for 12th, but finished in the same 34th spot he had last season.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
