Aspen claims 3A Region 4 golf title as Eagle Valley sends two individuals to state

Eagle Valley is sending two individuals to the 3A state golf tournament next week.

Hudson Rozga shot a 78 to place fifth overall and Ben Vito carded an 83 to take 17th at the 3A Region 4 tournament, held at Snowmass Club in Aspen on Monday. The top-2 teams and 13 athletes not on qualifying teams made the state, which will be held at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo Oct. 7-8.

“Lots of emotions when half the boys make state,” stated Eagle Valley head coach Ryan Uhnavy. “I appreciate these guys handling the cut with dignity, showing pride and support for their teammates and looking at the loss as fuel to improve.”

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Aspen claimed a four-stroke team victory on its home course over Roaring Fork rival Basalt, which came in second with 233 points. Aspen junior Houston Benvenuto shot a 69 to win the individual crown by seven strokes.

Eagle Valley (250) and Battle Mountain (265) finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 11-member field. The Huskies were led by William Morrison (86) and Beau Suman (87), who finished 23rd and 24th, respectively.

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Uhnavy gave a shoutout to Chris Marsh for playing through adversity and maintaining focus as he dealt with three mid-round bloody noses to finish with a 94. He also credited Lawson Rumley — who shot an 89 to finish in 27th — for his “passion, introspection and drive to improve.”

“Really looking forward to working with them for another year and seeing what they can achieve,” Uhnavy said of the juniors.

Before Monday’s round, Uhnavy and his assistant coach Kyle Hoiland asked their players what kind of coach they were looking for at regionals. Rozga opted for more of a “spectator coach” while Vito chose a “caddie” coach, Uhnavy said. Both were good calls.

“(Hudson) knows what needs to be done and continuously executes at a high level — ‘let the boy cook,'” Uhnavy said. “He knows how to find the zone and stay calm and focused.”

Rozga drilled three birdies and turned the corner with a 38, holding on for a 40 on the back nine to preserve his 6-over round. Vito made two birdies, including one on the 400-yard par-4 first hole.

“I am so pumped that he gets to go to state as a senior,” Uhnavy said of Vito. “He really earned it. He has made a ton of progress this year and has been on top of his game.”

Uhnavy caddied alongside Vito — who made the state cut by one stroke — for all 18 holes, providing wind, yardages, elevation, slope and breaks.

“He is a very cerebral golfer. It was super fun providing him data and watching him take this data and use it to hit great shots,” the coach said. “(An) 83 at Snowmass is a great round.”

Eagle Valley’s Barrett Jones finished 29th, 7th and second in the respective 2015, 2016 and 2017 4A state golf tournaments. The Devils also sent Jonathan Boyer to state in 2021 and 2022, but Uhnavy believes it’s been awhile since two golfers from the program have made it to the final weekend.

“I know It has been over six years,” he said. “This is definitely a rare event and feels like a major accomplishment for our team.”