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Championship Program
Final Results
LONGMONT – It was a season of firsts for the Mead boys golf team.
In their first-ever state tournament that they qualified for as a team, they clinched their first state championship in the sport. It’s a Cinderella story.
“We won one other tournament this year and that was it,” Mead coach Mike Ward said. “I guess we picked the best for last. We peaked at the right time.”
They sure did, especially on the second day when they erased a seven-stroke deficit to Broomfield after round one. Mead was in third behind the Eagles and Loveland entering Tuesday.
How were they able to surge past Broomfield by 10 strokes with a total score of 440 (20-over)?
Their trio of senior golfers all improved their scores compared to Monday.
“I’m so proud of these three guys and how they battled through two days,” Ward said. “Couldn’t be more proud of how steady they played over the last two days, how they kept their emotions in check, and just kept making good shot after good shot. We could see this as we went through the season. Now that it’s come to fruition, it’s total excitement.”
Their top golfer, Stryker Leick, had plenty to be excited about as he went from placing 33rd in 2024 to being in a tie for second with Northridge’s Everett Lewis this week.
“His game improved immensely,” Ward said. “He put the time in over the last year. He realized he could be pretty good at this and he just went to work. All the time and effort and hours that he put into his game showed up all year. I’m so excited for him and what his future is, because he’s only going to get better.”
Leick will play college golf, but he’s undecided on where yet.
He certainly showed out in his final high school tournament, as did teammate Booth Hayes. Hayes moved up from a tie for 23rd after Monday, shooting 76, to a tie for 9th with a sterling score of 72. He was two-over par in the second round.
“His first nine was very uncharacteristic, but he knew he had the second nine and he went one under,” Ward said of Booth shooting seven-over par to start his round Monday. “He built off that momentum today. I knew he was going to put himself in position to get birdies and if he didn’t get birdies, he was going to stay in there for pars.”
Ward calls him “‘Mr. Consistent” as he’s been a state qualifier all four years, one of the best golfers Mead has had in their short nine years of being a program. He got back to being consistent in his final 27 holes.
But, it takes three golfers to bring home a state championship. The third for the Mavericks was fellow senior Howie Thompson. Thompson rose from 36th to 17th, going from a score of 78 Monday to 73 on Tuesday.
“He picked the right day to have his best round ever out here,” Ward said proudly. “He kind of started the whole thing. He was the guy going off at 9 a.m. He started the momentum. His ball striking today was great. His demeanor, his attitude was awesome all day. It was fun to watch him, how excited he was about how he played 18 holes today.”
And so, Mead won their sixth team state championship across all sports. The school had been open from 1918-1962, but closed its doors from 1963-2008. Four of their titles have been won since 2021, so a new rush of success have come for the Mavericks.
“I am so proud and so happy to be at Mead,” Ward said. “I’ve been there since the school opened 17 years ago. I’m a teacher there. I teach science. I’m the head girls basketball coach, as well. We take a lot of pride in what the name is on the front of our shirt. We get such great support from that area.”
Another individual who gets great support is Hunter Simmons of Grand Junction, who was swarmed for picture requests after winning the individual state championship.
“I’m filled with emotion, excitement,” the senior beamed. “I’m super grateful for all my support here. It’s a great way to finish off my high school career.”
Simmons was in a tight battle with Northridge junior Everett Lewis throughout the final day of competition. They were tied at even par with Air Academy’s Jackson Moats after round one, but Lewis, Simmons, Loveland’s Will Sallee, Mead’s Stryker Leick, and Falcon freshman Cayden Besler emerged as front runners Tuesday.
And yet, Lewis led much of the second round. Simmons and Lewis were paired together.
“We were back-and-forth,” Simmons said of his tussle with the Northridge junior. “I started off a little slow, but was able to get back in it. Just focus down, make good putts, and was able to finish it off great.”
He indeed started slow, bogeying his first hole. Lewis birdied his second hole to take an early lead. Simmons responded with birdies on the third and fifth holes, but double-bogeyed on No. 7. Lewis birdied the fifth hole, as well.
Overall, the sensational Northridge golfer had a two-shot lead through nine holes.
The senior from Grand Junction then had a birdie on hole No. 12.
But, the turning point in the round were holes 14 and 15. Simmons birdied No. 14 and Lewis double-bogeyed No. 15. Simmons took the lead. He finished with a bogey, then a birdie to close out his final two holes. He shot a two-under 33 on the back nine to secure the state championship.
“I didn’t putt the best, but I was able to get the job done,” Simmons said. “I had a lot of birdie opportunities that I should’ve made, but unfortunately didn’t. I feel like I played consistent, though. But, overall, I hit more quality of shots today.”
In his last high school tournament, Simmons shot 70 on Monday and 69 on Tuesday. He won by two shots over Lewis (one-over) and Leick (one-over). Rounding out the top five were Loveland’s Sallee (two-over) and Falcon’s Besler (three-over).
The Grand Junction senior has been part of successful teams in the past. The Tigers, who were seventh this week, were the team runner-up in 2023 and 2024. His former teammate, the now graduated Ky Korte, was third individually last year.
“We came close the last two years both individually and as a team,” Simmons said. “It means a lot to do it and to represent the Western Slope. Show other people that the Western Slope has it. There’s a lot of future golfers, like myself, coming up that are ready to battle it out at the state level.”
Simmons notched his third-consecutive top-10 finish at the state tournament. He was eighth as a sophomore and 10th as a junior. And, he’s been building towards a state title for a long time.
“Ever since I could walk is when I could remember golfing,” he said with a laugh. “My parents play a little bit, just as a hobby. My grandpa was a pretty competitive golfer and my great uncle played at a high level.”
So, the fantastic senior represented his family, Grand Junction High, and the Western Slope well.
