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Cheyenne Mountain boys golf earns school’s 100th state title
The Cheyenne Mountain Indians captured the CHSAA Class 4A boys golf state title by five strokes on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Photo: Paul Soriano/CHSAA.org)

Cheyenne Mountain boys golf earns school’s 100th state title

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BVM) — The final day of the CHSAA state tournament was a big one for the Cheyenne Mountain boys golf team and a historic one for the high school. 

When the Indians captured first place in Class 4A at the Country Club of Colorado on Oct. 6, they not only claimed their second state championship for the program (first since 2004), they also reached the milestone of 100 state titles for the school. Cheyenne Mountain became just the second Colorado school — Cherry Creek, with 217, was the first —  to reach the century mark in state crowns. 

“Obviously when you win 100 championships, it’s cool that it was your team and you’re a part of that achievement,” Cheyenne Mountain boys golf coach John Carricato said. “But there’s also 99 other coaches and teams that won championships that were also big contributors to that number.”

Carricato was also quick to acknowledge that his team might not have been the school’s 100th  state champ had spring sports not been wiped out across the country this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There were three really good teams that could’ve actually won state titles in the baseball program, the girls soccer program and the boys lacrosse program,” Carricato said. “We are grateful to be a part of that history but when you reflect back, there were three really great teams that were lights out in their own sports that could’ve won state championships as well.”

Carricato’s team wasn’t in the driver’s seat to win a state title heading into the second round of the two-day tourney, but because of how well the Indians performed in the second half of day one, he had a feeling they could make a run at first-place Mullen, which Cheyenne Mountain trailed by four strokes.

“We came off of day one with a lot of confidence,” Carricato said. “Our back nine on day one really put us back into contention.”

The Indians’ confidence translated into day two success as they recorded a 224, improving on  their day one score by 11 strokes and outshooting the Mustangs by nine to capture the title (459-464). 

“There were three great back nines on the first day and I think that momentum carried over,” Carricato said. “That 224 score was more indicative of how we played all year. I was pretty confident in the kids and they were confident in themselves that they would shoot some numbers out there and you just hoped that it was enough because you are trailing and fortunately for us it was enough to get that championship.”

Three of the Indians’ golfers finished among the top 15 individually. Sophomore Carter Surofchek led the way, finishing in a tie for sixth place with a 152 (77-75). He was followed by senior Connor Moberly, who shot a 154 (80-74) and tied for ninth place, and sophomore Thomas Herholtz, who recorded a 156 (78-78) and tied for 11th. Junior Campbell Grage finished with a 158 (83-75) and tied for 17th, but it was his strong second-round performance after a rough back nine on day one which helped spark the Indians’ run to the title.

“When I saw the lineup and saw that he was going to go out first, my confidence the second day really shot up,” Carricato said. “I knew he was close to being really good and he showed it.  … That kind of set the tone for everybody else. He was out early enough to where his teammates knew that he was putting up some good numbers and I think that really motivated them as well.”

Grage, Surofchek and Herholtz will all return next season for the Indians, who have plenty of depth with several players already vying for the No. 4 spot on the team. That should give the program a good head start next year as it aims for back-to-back titles, which could be just the beginning of the school’s quest for another 100 state titles.