The Saint Stephen’s boys golf team overcame unfamiliarity with consistency Monday afternoon.
The Falcons’ prize?
Another trophy for the case and another week of fall.
The Falcons carded a 305 during the Class 1A-Region 6 tournament at The Hideout, good enough for a second-place finish. Most importantly, it was good enough to qualify Saint Stephen’s for next week’s Class 1A state meet in Dunnellon.
“These guys played good,” said coach Matt Primrose. “We’ve been pretty steady.”
The Falcons epitomized steady Monday. Sean Kelly, Osama Kahn and Eric Muslawaski finished with a 76, and Connor Lynch carded a 77.
What made the scores even more impressive is that the Falcons didn’t arrive in Naples until Monday morning, which didn’t allow time for a practice round.
“None of the guys had seen the course before today,” Primrose said. “We hopped the bus at 7 in the morning, and here we are.”
Moments later, the Falcons were accepting the runner-up trophy. Fort Myers Bishop Verot took the title with a 285 thanks to medalist Chase Marinell, who carded a 69.
Bradenton Christian’s Jordan Miller finished second overall with a 70, clinching the freshman’s first trip to the state meet.
Miller was 3 over par through 10 before getting word that the lowest score was 2 under par after 12 holes.
“That kind of got me going,” Miller said. “That kind of got me motivated to get going and start playing like I should be playing.”
He finished with an eagle on 17 and a birdie on 18, a clutch performance made necessary by William Kuhn of Fort Myers Gateway Charter, who finished with a 71.
The top two teams and the top two players from non-qualifying teams advanced to state.
“It feels really good to finish like that,” Miller said. “It feels great.”
BCS was fourth with a 315. Jack Lyerly had the Panthers’ second-best score, finishing with a 74.
Cardinal Mooney, paced by Ray Cowert’s 77, was fifth with a 321.
Out-of-Door Academy’s Blake Soni, a regional qualifier as an individual, just missed the cut, finishing with a 73. Teammate and fellow individual qualifier Zack Balit had a 78.
And Southeast’s Ryan Wolfe, another local golfer who qualified as an individual, finished with an 80.
Class 2A-Region 5
Lakewood Ranch’s Rocky Khara will return to the state tournament after finishing third in the Class 2A-Region 5 tournament by shooting a 1-over 73 at Heron Creek in North Port.
Khara competed in the state meet last year and finished 10th.
Also competing in the regional tournament was Manatee’s Sean Jacklin, who shot a 2-over 74. He finished fourth but did not qualify for the state meet.
At the girls meet at the Vineyards Country Club in Naples, Braden River’s Kristen Swindell finished third overall with a 74, but did not qualify for the state meet. Swindell birdied the fourth playoff hole.
Class 1A-Region 6
At The Hideout
Team scores (top two qualify for state)
1. Fort Myers Bishop Verot (FBV) 285, 2. Saint Stephen’s (SS) 305, 3. Fort Myers Gateway Charter (FMGC) 309, 4. Bradenton Christian (BC) 315, 5. Cardinal Mooney (CM) 321, 6. Naples St. John Neumann (SJN) 322, 7. Naples St. John Neumann (SJN) 324, 8 Englewood Lemon Bay (ELB) 326, 9. South Fort Myers (SFM)
Top six finishers (*-qualify for state as individual)
1. Chase Marinell (FBV) 69, 2. Jordan Miller (BC) 70*, 3. Spencer Ciesla (CSN) 70*, 4. William Kuhn (FMGC) 71, 5. Blake Soni (Out-of-Door Academy) 73, 6. Jack Hernandez (FBV) 73.
Local results
Bradenton Christian (315) – Jordan Miller 70, Jack Lyerly 74, Jonathan Braam 85, John Weichel 86, Casey Najjar 91.
Cardinal Mooney (321) – Ray Cowert 77, Alejandro Romero 79, Pat Slatterly 84, Hunter Sagar, Peter Grabowski.
Saint Stephen’s (305) – Sean Kelly 76, Osama Kahn 76, Eric Muslawski 76, Connor Lynch 77, Ethan Hill 111.
Local individual results
Out-of-Door Academy – Blake Soni 73, Zack Balit 78.
Southeast – Ryan Wolfe 80.
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