[Sly Fox]

From the Pueblo, Colorado fishwrap:

Torrid Zaremba wins state title

By JOE E. CERVI
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN


Pueblo West's Zach Zaremba chips onto the green during the boys Class 4A state golf championships on Tuesday at Haymaker golf Course in Steamboat Springs. Zaremba shot a course record 65 to win the individual title and lead the Cyclones to a second-place finish in the team standings.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS - Zach Zaremba started four groups in front of the leaders Tuesday in the final round of the Class 4A state high school boys golf championships.

Not exactly the marquee pairing of the day for one of the best prep players in the state. Then again, a first-round score in black numbers earned Zaremba a less-than-preferable tee time.

Undeterred by the circus developing behind him, Zaremba had a game plan: Go out, shoot a low number, let the grapevine do its work and take his chances.

The plan worked to perfection.

Zaremba, a senior at Pueblo West High School, shot a course-record and tournament-best 7-under-par 65 over the 7,100-yard Haymaker Golf Course to win the individual state championship by three strokes over Kent Denver's Gunner Wiebe, Justin Spray of Cheyenne Mountain, Peak to Peak's Kaleb Mahanes and Mark Hubbard of Colorado Academy.

"I figured it was six strokes, and guys have made up six strokes on me before, so I thought I had a chance," Zaremba said after posting a two-day total 138. "I knew I could go low, but I had to roll in some putts."

Along with Zaremba's heroics, the rest of the Cyclones fell into place. They - Zaremba, Phillip Daurio, Zane Covey and Mike Sarro - were 15 strokes better than their first round. Their second-day 211 total - the best of the tournament - pushed the Cyclones to second place as as team. Kent Denver, with two strong days, won the team title with 428, followed by Pueblo West at 437.

"That was just neat," Cyclones coach Jeff Chamberlain said. He told the team Tuesday morning that he was stepping down as coach. He told Zaremba the only reason he stayed this year "was to see Zach win a state championship. These kids made it worth it, absolutely."

The final three groups had big galleries, standard bearers and the comfort of a cushion by virtue of their first-round scores.

Without fanfare - his mom, Sue, made up the gallery of one - Zaremba ripped apart the course. He hit 14 fairways and 17 greens and generally made life easy on himself by crisply hitting almost every shot.

Zaremba made three birdies on the front side, but it was a 35-foot par putt on the par-3 7th that got him going.

"I'd been hitting it good for two days and I couldn't make anything. That putt finally broke the ice," Zaremba said. "That putt pumped me and I never looked back."

With putts falling, Zaremba played in the inward nine in 4-under.

"The only thing I can be disappointed in was that I left that (eagle) putt short on 18," he joked. "I never really got in trouble and I was patient with my game, for the most part. I didn't chip or putt very well Monday so I worked on it after my round and straightened some things out."

Zaremba, who has narrowed his choices for college to Colorado State, Wyoming and Liberty University in Virginia, was equally impressed with the improvement of his teammates.

Daurio and Covey both shot 73 Tuesday, bettering their scores by three and seven strokes, respectively.

"To take second as a team, after the way we played Monday, that's pretty impressive," Zaremba said.

http://www.chieftain.com/sports/1159956176/1