PARKER • Air Academy’s Mike Guerra birdied the first playoff hole Monday to win the Class 5A Colorado Springs regional tournament at Pinery Country Club.

Guerra was one of nine area players to qualify for the state tournament Oct. 6-7 at the Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Course.

Guerra finished the round in a tie with Derek Fribbs and Cody Kent of runner-up Douglas County. All three shot a 1-over par 73 and Guerra was not too pleased with not winning the title before the playoff.

“I’ll take my score,” he said. “My putting was a disgrace and I wanted to throw clubs, but I’ll take it.”

Guerra ended up playing a second playoff hole with the rest of his teammates to decide second place and an automatic team berth in the state tournament at the Kadets’ home course.

Guerra, Kameron Harrell and Tyler Steigerwald qualified as a three-man team. But a poor playoff kept them from sending their fourth.

“We couldn’t find the fairway,” Harrell said. “Mike hit it in the weeds and we couldn’t find it so he had to go back to the tee, and Tyler hit it into the left rough.”

No one was more disappointed than fourth team member Ben Fry, who felt responsible for the third-place finish.

“They went par-par-par, and we went par-par-bogey,” said Fry, who was eliminated from the state tournament. “My missed putt gave us the big ‘L.'”

Harrell was ready to put the day behind him and focus on state.

“We came here to qualify a team and that’s what we did,” he said. “We always do well on our home course.”

Harrell, a sophomore, placed fifth with a 75. Harrell and Guerra said that they were frustrated, but coach Wayne Marshall couldn’t have been more proud.

“Kameron and Mike have been consistent all year and they played really well considering the wind,” Marshall said. “Once the wind started up, the scores went up.”

Pine Creek’s Ben Krueger qualified for state and tied for sixth with a 76, but described his day with one word: bad.

“I went 4 over on the last four holes,” he said. “I was even until then. The wind got to me at the end and my score blew up.”

Setsuko Dunphy in her backyard trimmed a topiary swan she sculpted. As the topiary grows, she trims it and it eventually will cover up the chicken wire. Photo by (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)