A feeling of relief blew through Murphy Creek Golf Course on Tuesday, as 26 golfers who qualified for state felt fortunate to have survived trying conditions.

"The difficulty of the course is always going to be a factor, but (Tuesday), it was the wind," Holy Family coach Will Wilson said. "It blew 25 miles per hour the whole day."

Wilson said the Tigers scored the way they usually do, which he considered an exceptional performance in light of the blustery day at the Class 3A Metro regional tournament.

Holy Family's Will Roth proved especially impervious to the wind, shooting a 4-over-par 76 to capture the regional championship.

"I didn't really hit it well, but my putting was tremendous," Roth said. "Everything inside of 15 feet went in."

Roth shot 36 on the front, but a double bogey on No. 14 helped inflate his back-nine score to 40.

"The back, there was a three- or four-hole stretch where we were facing directly into the wind, and there was water that came into play, too," he said.

Roth's teammates also had respectable rounds, with Austin Lucero shooting 80 and Nick Bovine and Sean Urban carding 87s. That amounted to a 243 total for Holy Family, good for a first-place tie with Kent Denver.

Both teams qualified for state, Oct. 5 and 6 at Spring Valley in Elizabeth. But each squad had no weak score and would have qualified all four golfers individually, as they all beat the cutoff of 89.

The Sun Devils won the championship on a scorecard playoff (having a lower score than Holy Family from their highest-scoring golfer). Kent has won the past couple of Class 4A championships but can't technically be called a defending champion because the Class 3A state tournament was added this season.

Kent coach Bob Austin said the Sun Devils easily won another Metro League title this season but noted Holy Family was very strong Tuesday. Kent has no returning golfers from last year's title team and no seniors.

Kent's best placer was sophomore Connor Morgan, who shot 80, but there were only three shots difference on the Sun Devils from top to bottom. Jason Lehigh shot 81, Julian Harding 82 and freshman C.J. Dorsey 83.

Michael Reitz, a senior from Denver Christian, was runner-up, shooting 78. Denver Christian also will be in contention for the state team title, as three Crusaders, the minimum, shot better than 89.

"I didn't play well - scored well, though," Reitz said. "I just kept working at it. I'm just happy to qualify for state."

Class 3A Metro Region golf tournament

at Murphy Creek GC, par 72

Team scores: Kent Denver 243, Holy Family 243, Denver Christian 249, Colorado Academy 251, Peak to Peak 254, Faith Christian 259, Kiowa 269, Machebeuf 276, Discovery Canyon 286, Limon 289, Middle Park, 289, Lutheran Parker 292, Legend 304, Resurrection Christian 311, Bennett 315, Dayspring Christian 324, Colorado Springs School 327, Denver Academy 329, Eads 338, Lake County 359.

Individuals (all state qualifiers): Will Roth, Holy Family, 36-40-76; Michael Reitz, Denver Christian, 37-41-78; Will Sherman, Colorado Academy, 39-40-79; Austin Lucero, Holy Family, 40-40-80; Connor Morgan, Kent Denver, 39-41-80; Jason Lehigh, Kent Denver 41-40-81; Julian Harding, Kent Denver, 38-44-82; Cody Miller, Kiowa, 43-39-82; Brad Shumway, Peak to Peak, 40-42-82; C.J. Dorsey, Kent Denver, 38-45-83; Patrick King, Colorado Academy, 40-44-84; Sam Mobley, Denver Christian, 41-44-85; Clay Reierson, Faith Christian, 43-42-85; Jordan Colson, Faith Christian, 45-41-86; Brian Danielson, Peak to Peak, 39-47-86; J.D. Mobley, Denver Christian, 43-43-86; Trevor Patch, Peak to Peak, 45-41-86; Nick Bovine, Holy Family, 41-46-87; Sean Urban, Holy Family, 44-43-87; Jimmy Aubiss, Faith Christian, 45-43-88; Travis George, Machebeuf, 43-45-88; Mike Miceli, Machebeuf, 45-43-88; Kyle Pilipovich, Discovery Canyon, 43-45-88; Ben Wilson, Colorado Academy, 41-47-88; Franklin Chiu, Fountain Valley, 44-45-89; Ian Cullity, Colorado Springs School, 44-45-89.