Whether they excelled in the fall or in the spring, it didn’t matter to a large group of area high school boys golfers as they flourished during the Section III state qualifying tournament at Seven Oaks in Hamilton.
All told, five golfers survived the 18-hole cut to reach the top 20, two from Marcellus and two from Westhill, joined by West Genesee’s Nick Bove, who still had his form more than eight months after leading the Wildcats to the sectional Class AA title.
In the first round on Thursday, Marcellus teammates Shawn Colella and Carter Austin both shot 81, nine over par, and tied for sixth place. Just behind them, Bove managed an 82.
Meanwhile, Westhill’s duo of Sean Dadey and Anthony Maglisco advanced, too, matching each other with scores of 83 that put them in a tie for 11th place heading into the final round.
Though they were chasing Manlius-Pebble Hill’s Johnny Gruninger (76) at the top of the standings, the main goal was to finish in the top nine to advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at Cornell University’s course.
In Saturday’s final round, Dadey and Maglisco fell back, but Bove did not. By shooting a two-over-par 74, eight shots better than his opening round, Bove finished at 156 and rose all the way to third place.
Colella and Austin maintained their positions, Colella by shooting a 79 and Austin posting an 80. By finishing at 160, Colella gained sixth place, with Austin at 161 and alone in seventh place, making it two Mustangs going to the state tournament.
It was New Hartford’ s Jack Angelucci winning the state qualifier as his even-par 72 in the final round helped him overtake Gruninger to win by one shot, 152 to Gruninger’s 153.
The state tournament field for Section III would include Bove, Colella, Austin, Angelucci, Gruninger, Jake Domagal (Whitesboro), Kyle Gilroy (Fayetteville-Manlius), Joe Miga (Utica-Notre Dame) and Mike Mandel (New Hartford).
Others were unable to advance past the first round. That included Westhill’s Josh Marshall, whose 86 missed the cut by a single shot. David Bleskoski, in between stints with the boys tennis Warriors, shot a 91. WG’s Jack Corcoran shot 95, while Tim Depaola had a 98.
