Boys Golf: Niwot finishes second at 4A Northern regionals; team qualifies for state

Coach Ed Weaver is “ecstatic” about his team’s second-place finish at the 4A regional tournament in Greeley, but not especially shocked.

“No, it’s not really a surprise,” he said. “I always knew they had the capability.”

The key, he says, was convincing his players of their potential. To do that, Weaver said he used a statistics-based approach to show his players how they match up against their competitors.

“I just had to gather the data and analyze it,” he explained. “It helped them see they could do it.”

This tactic paid off for Weaver. Led by top ten individual finishes from seniors Jake Butler and Max Kuesel, the Cougars were just 15 strokes behind tournament winner Silver Creek. By finishing second, Niwot’s entire four-man roster qualified to compete at the state tournament, the first time a team from Niwot has done so.

Ahead of the state meet, Weaver was cautiously optimistic about his team and its chances, but not willing to go on record with a prediction.

“Max and Jake have to lead the way,” said Weaver. “Jack Hoover is playing better. He could be our sleeper. I think they’re peaking at the right time.”

The Class 4A state tournament was scheduled for September 26-27, at the River Valley Ranch Golf Course in Carbondale.

4A Northern Region Tournament, Boomerang Links, Greeley

Team Scores —

Silver Creek 217, Niwot 232, Windsor 241, Thompson Valley 242, Greeley Central 250, Roosevelt 250, Erie 254, Mountain View 254, Northridge 255, Berthoud 259, Frederick 274, Fort Morgan 275, Centaurus 283, Skyline 310, Vista Peak 312, Longmont 338

Top Individuals —

Jackson Solem, Silver Creek, 67; Cole Krantz, Windsor, 69; T. J. Shehee, Silver Creek, 73; Jake Butler, Niwot, 74; Robert Heiny, Greeley Central, 74; Nathan Dwyer, Thompson Valley, 75; Max Kuesel, Niwot, 75; Darren Edwards, Thompson Valley, 77; Brady Henderson, Fort Morgan, 77; Tyler Severin, Roosevelt, 77

Niwot Individuals —

t4. Jake Butler (Sr.), 74; t6. Max Kuesel (Sr.), 75; t19. Andrew Elliott (So.), 83; t30. Jack Hoover (So.), 90