Way back in October, boys golfers from Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse recorded high finishes in the Section III Class AA championship tournament.

But the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships don’t take place until the first weekend in June, at Cornell University’s Robert Trent Jones-designed layout. So they have to wait more than seven months for a resolution to the season.

That long wait ended last Thursday, when various Warriors and Northstars made their way to Seven Oaks, the top-rated course near Colgate University in Hamilton, for the Section III state qualifier.

Immediately, Liverpool’s Karl Deuble put himself into title contention, shooting an opening-round 75, three over par, just one shot behind the pace-setting trio of John Clare (West Genesee), Mike Lee (Fayetteville-Manlius) and Alec Bard (New Hartford).

Not only did Deuble advance to the final round, so did C-NS’s Joe Petrin, who posted a 79 to put himself in a tie for eighth. In all, 25 golfers advanced to Saturday’s final round, with nine state tournament berths on the line.

Petrin’s teammate, Cory Piper, posted an 84, but that two shots too many as the cut fell at 82. Derek Teague got close, too, for the Northstars as he posted an 86, while Luke Cavallo managed a 91 and Jon Petrin managed a 92.

Now Petrin and Deuble, along with the 23 other finalists, would start at zero and confront brutal conditions – cold temperatures, high wind that gusted above 30 miles per hour and rain, which led to high scores.

Somehow, Petrin posted steady rounds of 79 and 82 through these conditions and finished second to Clare, whose 74 and 85 gave him the victory at 159. And while Deuble tailed off a bit, he still managed a 75 and 89 for a 164 to tie for seventh place.

Deuble and Petrin will join the New Hartford trio of Alec Bard, Derek Bard and Tom Mandel, along with Clare, Ian Campbell (Canastota), Jack Bellardini (CBA) and Mike Kalil (Utica-Notre Dame) as they are headed for Ithaca.