By David Tesitor
HUERFANO- Last Thursday, the Redskins hosted their invitational tournament at Grandote with twenty-six teams playing. Top individual honors went to Troupe Armentout of Trinidad with a one-below-par 71. Second place went to Luke Condor who also shot a 71 but lost the scorecard tiebreaker. The field was so competitive that the eighth-place finisher shot a 79. The team title went to Trinidad with a combined 232, five strokes ahead of their nearest competitor, Pueblo West. Third place went to league foe Rye with a 241.
John Mall placed fifth, shooting a 249. Panther Stephen Rodriguez came in with a 79, placing ninth. Justin Eccher finished with an 83. Michael Maldonado shot an 87 while teammate Joel Martinez shot one of his best rounds of the season with a 92. The host team, the La Veta Redskins, did not fare too well. They finished near the bottom of the pack with a team score of 296. Ron Ortivez struggled with a 93 while teammate Jon Brunelli shot a 98. Adam Ortivez shot a 105.
The following day, the Panthers hosted thirteen teams. Powerhouse Lamar took the team title with a score of 223, 24 strokes better than the second-place finisher, John Mall. Third place went to Canyon City with a 265. Lamar had two players finish at par (72), finishing first and second for the day. Eccher placed fifth with an eighty. Rodriguez shot an 85 for the day.
On Saturday the Cats traveled to Rocky Ford as defending champions, and took home the first-place prize, shooting a low 234. Rodriguez also took home top honors with a one-over-73.
The final tournament is Tuesday in Rye followed by regionals and state.
