Boulder, Colo. (Oct. 4, 2022) --  It took a great team effort and in the end the Wyoming Cowboys captured the team championship at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational by just one stroke over host Colorado.  Wyoming and Colorado battled each other right up to the 54th and final hole, with the Cowboys finishing at 838 (-2).  Colorado finished at 839 (-1).
 
Sophomores Jaren Calkins and Kristof Panke tied with four other individuals for fifth place at 208 (-2).  Sophomore Patrick Azevedo and junior Jimmy Dales both shot 213 (+3) totals to tie for 25th, and senior Tyler Severin finished just one shot back of Azevedo and Dales at 214 (+4) to tie for 31st.  In addition to the five Cowboys playing for Wyoming as a team, three other Cowboys competed as individuals.  Sophomore Aidan Mann shot a 218 (+8) to tie for 55th.  Senior Kirby Coe-Kirkham finished one stroke behind Mann at 219 (+9) to tie for 59th, and sophomore Cade McLaughlin was a stroke back of Coe-Kirkham at 220 (+10) and tied for 67th. 
 
Wyoming and Colorado were the only two teams to shoot under par for the tournament.  The individual champion was Brady McKinlay of Utah Valley, who fired a 203 (-7).  He won by one stroke over Raghav Chugh of Rice, who shot a 204 (-6).
 
"It was a long, unusual day having to play 27 or 28 holes today after the weather suspension yesterday.  But the kids responded well," said Joe Jensen, UW Director of Golf.  "This was a special team win.  It was back and forth all day with CU.  The kids knew every shot mattered, and it came down to the last couple of holes.  The guys wanted this and they played hard. 
 
"It feels good to win against a really strong field of teams.  It was good to win against a number of regional teams and a couple of Pac-12 teams in Colorado and Washington State.  Washington State had just won the Husky Invitational a couple weeks ago. 
 
"This was an entire team effort.  This is our fourth tournament with four different lineups, so it's been a real team effort this fall with everyone contributing. 
 
"It will be nice to have a chance to enjoy this for a few days before we wrap up the fall season later this month at one of the great tournaments -- the Ka'anapali in Maui."
 
In what came down to just a one-stroke victory, there were a number of key performances for the Cowboys over the two-day event.  Among those key performances were a hole-in-one by Panke in Monday's opening round as he knocked it in the cup on the 198-yard, par three sixth hole.  Dales posted two eagles on Monday.  His first eagle came in the opening round when he recorded a 3 on the 585-yard, par-five second hole.  Dales followed that up with a 2 on the 476-yard, par-4 10th hole in the Monday afternoon round.
 
This was the first team championship for the Cowboy Golf team in a stroke-play tournament since Oct. 15, 2017, when they captured their own Wyoming Southern Dunes Invitational in Maricopa, Ariz.  In that 2017 team championship, former Cowboy Arron Lickteig also recorded a hole-in-one to lead Wyoming to a two-stroke win over Loyola Marymount.  The Cowboys did capture a team match-play title in February of 2022 when they won the Wyoming Desert Match Play event in Palm Desert, Calif., in a field of eight teams.
  
This week's 2022 Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational was played at the Boulder Country Club, which measured 7,110 yards and played to a par of 70.
  
Wyoming will conclude its fall golf schedule on Oct. 28-30 at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational in Ka'anapali, Maui, Hawai'i.
 
Team Standings
1.   Wyoming                                 271-288-279=838  (-2)
2.   Colorado                                 274-283-282=839  (-1)
3.   Rice                                         274-281-288=843  (+3)
4.   Arkansas State                        277-288-280=845  (+5)
5.   Utah Valley                              284-282-279=846  (+6)
6.   Texas El Paso                         283-289-277=849  (+9)
7.   ULM                                        279-284-287=850  (+10)
8.   Grand Canyon                        285-284-283=852  (+12)
      Boise State                             284-288-280=852  (+12)
10. Kansas City                            284-289-280=853  (+13)
11. Denver                                    285-288-282=855  (+15)
12. Washington State                   284-289-285=858  (+18)
13. Utah State                              288-286-284=858  (+18)
14. Nevada                                   286-287-288=861  (+21)
15. Northern Colorado                  300-283-291=874  (+34)
16. Southern Utah                        293-304-299=896  (+56)
 
Wyoming Team Members
T5               Jaren Calkins            65-71-72=208 (-2)
T5               Kristof Panke            66-74-68=208 (-2)
T25             Patrick Azevedo        70-72-71=213 (+3)
T25             Jimmy Dales             70-71-72=213 (+3)
T31             Tyler Severin             72-74-68=214 (+4)
 
Wyoming Individuals
T55             Aidan Mann               73-74-71=218 (+8)
T59             Kirby Coe-Kirkham    75-73-71=219 (+9)
T67             Cade McLaughlin      71-75-74=220 (+10)