Coleman, East boys win Cheyenne Invite title

“I almost cost myself the tournament there, but I finished my round on (Hole No.) 10, and I was able to make birdie there,” Coleman said. “I hit a good drive and then a good iron that left me with an opportunity to get up and down in two.”

Coleman’s day featured four bogeys, in addition to the double on No. 8. He netted birdies on Hole Nos. 1, 4 and 16.

“There wasn’t a whole lot that was different between my first round and my second, I just got a couple more putts to fall,” Coleman said. “I’m comfortable with my ball-striking and pretty comfortable with where my short game is. I’m not right on it right now, but I feel pretty good about it.”

East won the team title at 52-over 612. Kelly Walsh placed second at 60-over, while Central was third (72-over).

Thunderbirds junior Kael Lissman led the individual race after the first round, but carded an 11-over 81 to finished at 13-over for the tournament and in a four-way tie for fifth.

Lissman started his day on Hole No. 10 and birdied the opening hole. He bogeyed four of the next five and posted doubles on Hole Nos. 16 and 17.

Lissman found positives in his round, despite his struggles.

“I found something out about myself, because I had lots of adversity,” Lissman said. “This was a good lesson about fighting through it and keeping things together.

“I had a lot of self-doubt after a couple of holes. I’ll use this as a lesson. It was a good experience that I can take, learn from and hopefully do better.”

Central senior Caden Cunningham was 7-over during Friday’s final round and tied for fifth at 13-over. His round started slowly, which he attributed to a tight swing.

“I was getting up and down from every single tree on the course, it seemed, and that was pretty good,” Cunningham said. “But it wasn’t the number you want on a second day. I just didn’t put myself in a good position on the first day, let my mind get the best of me and stopped thinking positive things.

“I had to put the ball within two feet just to make a putt, and that was really frustrating.”

The East boys also had Daniel Meyer place ninth (15-over) and Isaak Erickson tie for 10th (17-over). Central’s Zack Wiltanger also tied for 10th.

On the girls side, Central senior Barrett Georges split fourth at 16-over. She led the event after the first round, but posted a 12-over 82 in the final round.

Georges has been working on managing adversity, and Friday’s round gave her plenty. She had four bogeys on the front nine and two bogeys, a double-bogey and a quadruple-bogey on the back nine.

“Last year, I would have let something like that build up and affect me for hole after hole after hole, and I’d keep plummeting downhill,” Georges said. “I came back from my eight on (Hole No.) 11 with three pars. I stayed a little more positive than I usually do.

“This really showed me that it will benefit you in the long run if you stay positive.”

Central senior Katie Cobb also cracked the top 10, finishing in a tie for seventh at 22-over.

Kelly Walsh won the girls team title at 48-over 468. Central was third (86-over).

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.