Dedicated players, a short season and a state qualifier.
Kyle Freeland represents TJ with a solid effort at the State Tournament. photo by Rebecca Holt.
After nearly two months, The Boys Golf season has come to an end; a satisfying end for Junior Kyle Freeland, who qualified for state and scored a total of 162 points during Monday and Tuesday’s competitions. Freeland shot a 79 in the first round and 81 in the second. TJ placed second in the Denver Prep League, and Freeland placed 51st in the state competition. “I was pleased with my performance, and most of all it was a fun time competing with all the best golfers in the state. I felt like I did really well, and it was just a great experience,” Said Freeland.
“One of the hard things with golf is that it’s a really quick season. It started August 10th, and now it’s October, and we’re done,” said Head Coach Stacey Fornstrom. Golf is a sport that takes a lot of effort; good golfers have to perfect their alignment, grip, and posture. Then the key element becomes focusing on consistency.
The last stretch of the season was pretty busy. “We headed to state, but before that, there was regionals. The original regionals day was about 38 degrees and raining, and there were 30 mile per hour winds. The guys went out and played three holes before it was canceled. Everybody was freezing and soaked. It was rescheduled for a week later. That was kinda crazy,” said Fornstrom.
Throughout the season the golf team worked hard. Placing 2nd in a DPS competition and 4th in a City Park match takes hard work. It takes dedication and preparedness. ”One of the big things is the golfers need to be ready to play when the season starts. They can’t round their way into form. In other words, they need to practice a lot before the season starts,” said Fornstrom. “You need to keep your skills sharp.”
With the end of another season, Fornstrom looks to the future of the program. “We’re looking forward to next year because the heart of the team is juniors, sophomores, and a couple freshmen. We should do good next year,” he said.
