By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

But Colson has made the most headlines in golf and bowling. Last season, Colson won the Class B state golf championship as a sophomore, winning the meet by two shots. 

“It was definitely nerve-racking,” said Colson, who this past summer recorded his first hole-in-one at The Golf Club at Red Rock in Rapid City. “But I put a lot of time into it. So it was rewarding.”

It wasn’t the first time Colson stayed cool, calm and collected in competition. In March 2021, as a seventh-grader, Colson bowled his first of two 300 games. 

“It was pretty awesome,” Colson said about his first 300. “I spent hours upon hours at the bowling alley and that was a pretty awesome moment.”

He then finished first at the South Dakota United States Bowling Congress Pepsi Championship, winning the 15U division. At the end of a four-game series, Gavin had a score of 889, and won the championship by a single pin. 

As a result, he qualified for the Junior Gold Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

“It’s definitely eye-opening,” Colson said about the national competition. “Around here bowling isn’t such a big thing. But when you travel there’s thousands of kids there competing. It’s definitely challenging. But pretty crazy to see.”

Colson’s talents go beyond athletics, too. In addition to being a percussionist in the school band, he began playing guitar as a six-year old and was performing on stage just one year later. 

“When I was seven there was a band at Blunt Fest, and they called me on stage,” Colson said. “It was kind of spur of the moment. It was pretty cool. As a young kid everybody is excited for you and so that kind of got me into performing in front of people. Because that was a pretty awesome moment.”

He’s continued to perform at Blunt Fest and the Sully County Fair. Colson doesn’t have a favorite genre or artist, instead he performs everything from country, rock and roll and Christian music.  

“I don’t really focus on one genre or one era of music,” Colson said. “Because I perform to so many different people that want different things.”

The multi-talented Colson will likely have many different opportunities after high school. But he hopes to play college golf upon graduation from Sully Buttes High School in 2026. 

Until then, he’s got more songs to sing and more sports to play as a Sully Buttes Charger. 

“He’s a heckuva dude,” Moore said. “I am glad I was able to teach him, and get to know him. We are pretty darn fortunate to have a kid like that representing Sully Buttes.”

Sully Buttes junior wide receiver Gavin Colson (12) celebrates with his teammates during a game against Sunshine Bible Academy on Nov. 8 in Miller. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)