In regulation and beyond, the Fayetteville-Manlius and Jamesville-Dewitt girls golf teams battled for top honors in Tuesday’s Section III championship tournament at Kanon Valley Country Club in Oneida.
When all was settled, the Hornets were second in Class A, the Red Rams had secured the Class B title, and three golfers – Molly Hair, Allison Donella and Victoria Roney – were on their way to the state tournament.
Keying J-D’s Class B title effort was the work of Hair, who was steady and consistent in hot, steamy conditions. She shot a 41 on the front nine at Kanon Valley and a 39 on the back line, giving her an 80, putting her in third place among individuals.
Donella led F-M as she shot an 86, tying for fifth place. Meanwhile, Donella’s teammate, Natalie Powers, had an 87, as did Roney, which put them in a four-way tie for seventh.
Since only nine players would gain automatic state tournament berths, those four players – Roney, Powers, Cicero-North Syracuse’s Brianna Sovring and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill’s Amanda Snizek – went to the 1st hole for a playoff, determining which three would advance.
Roney made a par, as did Sovring and Snizek, but Powers made a bogey, and as a result she is the first alternate, ready to step onto the team should any of the top nine not make it to the state tournament, set for June 7-9 at the SUNY-Delhi course.
On the team side, F-M, trying to regain the Class A championship after Rome Free Academy won it a year ago, had a 361, putting them in second place again as Auburn, with 336, finished in front.
Just behind Donella and Powers, Alexandra Millimaci finished with an 89, sharing 11th place, while Annie Caputo managed a 99. Kenzie Kingsley finished with a 97. Kristen Gamble had a 105 as seventh-grader Sally Trop posted 109 in her sectional debut.
As for J-D, it had a team score of 373, third overall and tops on the Class B side as Cazenovia, with 410, took second place.
Jung-Hye Kim, a large part of the Red Rams’ undefeated run through the Onondaga High School League this spring, tailed off a bit, finishing with a 91. Alanna Jones finished at 101 and Chelsea Clark had a 113, while Jessica Rieger finished with a round of 115 and Sarah Phillips had 129.
CBA finished fifth out of seven Class A entries with a team score of 409. Ellie Baumgartner led the Brothers, posting a 93, while Mary Frances Ierlan finished with a 94.
Lis Kip shot a 109, as Mary Fletcher (111) was close behind. Grace Holstein had a 112 and Aja Young posted a 113. East Syracuse-Minoa’s lone golfer in the field, Jessica Fralix, tied Young with 113.
Auburn’s title included a 1-2 effort from Larissa Carter, who shot a 75 to win the individual championship, and seventh-grader Lindsay May, who dazzled with a 76. Kaitln Hlywa added an 86, tying Donella for fifth place.
As a result of that victory, Carter will head to Drumlins East on July 26-28 to compete in the Symetra Tour’s Credit Union Classic. Two Symetra Tour professionals, Natalie Sheary and Calle Nielson, were on hand to congratulate Carter and the rest of the girls that took part in the sectional tournament.
Just a day earlier, the girls golfers that didn’t make it to the main sectional event held their own ‘B’ tournament at Butternut Creek. F-M’s Green side won with 161, while the F-M White team posted 178. J-D’s Red team was third with 196, with J-D White fourth as it shot 244.
Individually, F-M Green’s Paige Freyer shot a 38, one behind the individual champion, Cicero-North Syracuse’s Kenley Delbiondi. Maggie Bonomo (40), Caroline Gaglione (41), Emily Brunette (42), Erin Egnaczak (43), Sarah Shaheen and Molly Bushnell (45) rounded out the roster.
For F-M White, Katie Kennedy led the way, shooting a 41 at Butternut Creek. Audrey Pueto had a 43, while Laura Amato and Shannon Reynolds both shot 47. Melissa James had a 48 and Gina Rhee contributed a 50.
As for J-D Red, five players competed, led by Jane Brown, who shot a total of 45, three shots ahead of teammate Hannah Gibson. MaryKate Scheftic and Olivia Melton each finished with 52 and Joanna Brown added a 60. For J-D White, Emily Greenway shot a 58, ahead of Hailey Harrigan, Molly Sherwood (61 each), August Kisel and Shelby Woyciesjes (64 each).
