Down to the Wire

2 playoffs, 2 1-stroke wins in the 4 boys state high school tourneys as Connor Young (5A), Bode Truman (4A), Joey Banks (3A) & Connor Mellott (2A) earn titles; Cherry Creek claims record 10th team championship

By Gary Baines 

If tight competition is your thing as a sports fan, the 2026 boys state high school tournaments had you covered. No runaways this year for the individual titles; everything went right down to the wire on Tuesday. In fact, some needed to go past the wire to settle on a champion.

In the Class 5A tournament, junior Connor Young from nearby Columbine High School won by one at Columbine Country Club. In 4A, Monarch junior Bode Truman also prevailed by one. In 3A, three golfers went to a playoff, with sophomore Joey Banks of Forge Christian eventually taking the title on the second extra hole. And in 2A, another playoff was necessary, with senior Connor Mellott of Monte Vista needing overtime to beat Cedaredge’s Ashton Park.

Here’s how it all went down:

— Class 5A at Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley: Cherry Creek became the first Colorado high school to claim 10 state titles in boys golf as the Bruins broke a tie with Regis Jesuit and Kent Denver, who remain at nine.

With a 2-under-par team score on Tuesday, Creek rallied from three behind Lutheran entering day 2 to beat the 2025 3A champions from LHS by a mere two strokes. Arvada West place third. CCHS finished at 5 over par for two rounds.

Cherry Creek won its first eight state championship in golf by 1981, but hit a drought before prevailing in 2024 and this year.

Young, who place ninth last year at state, birdied the 428-yard, par-4 18th hole at Columbine — for the second straight day — to edge senior Crew Fitzgerald from Lutheran, who parred No. 18.

Young went 70-72 for a 2-under-par total at Columbine, which hosted the 1967 PGA Championship. On Tuesday, he double bogeyed the par-4 fourth hole before making three straight birdies to close the front nine. But he carded three straight bogeys in the middle of the back nine (13 through 15) before going par, par, birdie to win. For the day, he recorded five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.

Fitzgerald, son of former Colorado PGA Professional Champion Caine Fitzgerald, posted scores of 72-71 for his runner-up finish.

The Edwards brothers from Fairview, sons of University of Colorado men’s golf head coach Roy Edwards, placed third (freshman Luke) and fifth (junior Ash) as senior Cooper Kelly from Cherry Creek tied Luke Edwards for the third spot. It marked the second straight year Fairview put two golfers in the top five at the 5A state meet as Miles Kuhl was the 2025 champion and Ash Edwards the runner-up. Ash Edwards has recorded three top-6 finishes at state so far.

— Class 4A at Lone Tree Golf Club: Sometimes it’s all about timing in golf.

Get hot at the right time and amazing things can happen.

Take the case of Monarch High School junior Bode Truman. He’s a good player by high school standards, but going into the Class 4A state tournament, he didn’t seem likely to contend for the individual title — not with two of the top-ranked players in the state (based on season-long scores) competing at the same event: former champion Brayden Destefano of Cheyenne Mountain and Cayden Besler of Falcon.

Truman had posted tournament rounds ranging from 69 to 81 going into state this year — good but not great by the standards of the Colorado’s top junior players.

But at the state meet at Lone Tree Golf Club, it all came together for Truman — so much so that he earned the 4A state individual title, with Besler placing second and Destefano tying for third.

How did he do it? By following up a first-round 70 with a stellar 7-under-par 65 in Tuesday’s final round to finish at 9 under par, one better than Besler, who won the AJGA Junior Open at The Bridges in Montrose this past summer.

Truman racked up eight birdies while making just one bogey on Tuesday, which was enough to overcome a three-stroke deficit he faced going into the day.

Besler, the left-handed sophomore from Falcon, came up just short despite two rounds in the 60s (67-69). He eagled the par-5 11th hole and added four birdies while making three bogeys on Tuesday.

Cheyenne Mountain, the top-ranked team in the state based on season-long stroke average, won its fifth team championship of the century, with the last four coming in even-numbered years this decade (2020, 2022, 2024 and 2026). CMHS recorded a 6-over-par team total, with Timnath ending up second (+12) and Monarch third (+18).

Destefano, the senior who won the individual title two years ago and who who will play his college golf at the University of Colorado, finished tied for third this time around, giving him three top-10s at state (third, seventh and first place). This week, the 2026 CGA Match Play runner-up posted rounds of 72-70 for a 2-under-par total. Also at that figure and sharing third place was Timnath junior Greysen Kilburn (72-70).

— Class 3A at Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa: Banks two-putted for birdie on the second playoff hole — the par-5 third — to emerge victorious from a three-man playoff.

After senior Trevor Youssi from Colorado Academy bogeyed the first extra hole to get eliminated for the title, junior Levi McDowell from Resurrection Christian couldn’t match or better Banks’ birdie on the 20th hole of the day.

With that, Forge Christian swept the individual and team titles in 3A.

Forge (17 over par) claimed its first boys state high school team title, earning the 3A crown by two strokes over hard-charging Basalt. Colorado Academy was third at +24.

Banks, who placed eighth at 3A state last year, closed with a 4-under-par 67 in regulation on Tuesday to tie McDowell and Youssi at 5 under. Banks played his final 12 holes of regulation in 3 under par. Overall for the day, he recorded five birdies and one bogey.

McDowell birdied the final hole to get into the playoff after bogeying 16 and 17 en route to a 69. Youssi, in his final high school tournament, shot a bogey-free 66 in regulation before bowing out in the playoff.

Junior Isaiah Fowler of Frontier Academy, who lost in a playoff for the 2A title last year, placed fourth this time (69-70).

— Class 2A at Pueblo Country Club: With the top five finishers within three strokes of one another at the end of regulation, Mellott edged Park in a playoff to claim the 2A title.

Mellott, who finished fifth at state last year and ninth in the inaugural 2A tournament in 2024, ended up at 8 over par in regulation (74-76), while Park went 75-75. Mellott played the final three holes of regulation in 1 under par, while Park was 3 over on the same stretch (double bogey, par, bogey).

Senior Cian Courtney of Vail Christian (76-76) and sophomore Banks O’Brien of Telluride (75-77) tied for third place individually.

Vail Christian ran away with the 2A team title, finishing at 45 over par and prevailing by 26 strokes over runner-up Rye. Monte Vista (+72) was third. It was Vail Christian’s first boys state golf title. In fact, it was its first state championship in any sport/activity other than Spirit (Pom).

Here are the top team and individual finishers at all four 2026 boys state high school tournaments:

5A AT PAR-72 COLUMBINE CC IN COLUMBINE VALLEY

Team (Best 3 Individual Scores)

Cherry Creek 223-214—437

Lutheran 220-219—439

Arvada West 226-224—450

Cherokee Trail 223-229—452

Arapahoe 225-231–456

Individual

Connor Young, Columbine 70-72–142

Crew Fitzgerald, Lutheran 72-71–143

Luke Edwards, Fairview 71-73–144

Cooper Kelly, Cherry Creek 72-72–144

Ash Edwards, Fairview 76-69—145

Kai Jorde, Castle View 73-73–146

Dylan Boyce, Arvada West 73-73–146

Pierce Johnson, Boulder 70-78–148

Van Simmons, Lutheran 73-75–148

Easton Haas, Valor Christian 74-74–148

Gavin Pittman, Lutheran 75-73–148

Will Farber, Regis Jesuit 77-71–148

Max Music, Broomfield 74-74–148

David Katcher, Cherry Creek 79-69—148

4A AT PAR-72 LONE TREE GC

Team (Best 3 Individual Scores)

Cheyenne Mountain 218-220—438

Timnath 223-221—444

Monarch 232-218–450

Falcon 224-231—455

Kent Denver 224-233—457

Individual

Bode Truman, Monarch 70-65–135

Cayden Besler, Falcon 67-69–136

Brayden Destefano, Cheyene Mountain 72-70–142

Greysen Kilburn, Timnath 72-70–142

Everett Lewis, Northridge 71-74–145

Cooper Buchholz, Golden 72-73–145

Jake Bradley, Monarch 74-71–145

Caleb Grenier, Sand Creek 73-73–146

Drew Jepson, Durango 75-72–147

Gavin Dorssom, Poudre 74-73–147

Fenn Mullins, Cheyenne Mountain 71-76–147

3A AT PAR-71 CATTAILS GC IN ALAMOSA

Team (Best 3 Individual Scores)

Forge Christian 227-216—443

Basalt 231-214—445

Colorado Academy 230-220–450

Aspen 233-222—455

Resurrection Christian 228-228—456

Individual (x-indicates won playoff)

x-Joey Banks, Forge Christian 70-67—137

Levi McDowell, Resurrection Christian 68-69–137

Trevor Youssi, Colorado Academy 71-66—137

Isaiah Fowler, Frontier Academy 69-70–139

Braylon Ball, Windsor Charter Academy 68-74—142

Grady Ortiz, The Classical Academy 70-72–142

Hayden Dorsey, Manitou Springs 72-72—144

Logan Snyder, Brush 76-70—146

Ryan Banks, Forge 77-69—146

Isaac Heyman, Colorado Academy 76-71—147

2A AT PAR-71 PUEBLO CC

Team (Best 3 Individual Scores)

Vail Christian 235-236—471

Rye 250-247—497

Monte Vista 247-251–498

Telluride 254-251—505

Vail Mountain 256-252—508

Individual (x-indicates won playoff)

x-Connor Mellott, Monte Vista 74-76–150

Ashton Park, Cedaredge 75-75–150

Banks O’Brien, Telluride 75-77–152

Cian Courtney, Vail Christian 76-76–152

Wyatt Hansen, Vail Christian 76-77—153

Collen Todd, Golden View Classical Academy 81-74–155

Jack Bastian, Denver Academy 80-80–160

Simon Clune, St. Mary’s 82-78–160

Bryson Elam, Rangely 76-84—160

Ty Wood, Rye 79-82—161

For all the results, CLICK HERE.

About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com