Even as it was going through the OHSL Liberty division unblemished, the Skaneateles boys golf team hit some stumbling blocks as the Section III championships loomed.
First, the Lakers had a third-place finish behind Whitesboro and New Hartford in the May 10 Warrior Classic at Hidden Valley.
Then, two days later, Skaneateles had to settle for third place in the West End Classic at Bellevue Country Club, with a team score of 173, just behind Cazenovia, who won with 169, and Westhill, who took second place with 160.
But Skaneateles quickly shook this off and claimed the “Laker Cup” a day later, beating Cazenovia head-to-head, 196-220, and doing so at Cazenovia Country Club as Doug Pinckney and Matt Lee led the way, each of them posting 37 for nine holes.
Another match followed on Wednesday, against Jordan-Elbridge at Skaneateles Country Club, and the Lakers prevailed again, 204-214, over the Eagles, this time getting a strong round from Jake Fontana, whose total of 39 was the only one on either side to break 40.
And when Skaneateles defeated Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 200-295 on Thursday afternoon, it completed an undefeated run through head-to-head Liberty division matches, and set up its work on Monday at the sectional tournament at Sunset Ridge, with the State Qualifier set for Thursday and Saturday at Colgate University’s Seven Oaks course in Hamilton.
For the Skaneateles girls golf team, work in the last week of the regular season commenced last Monday when it hosted Jamesville-DeWitt and took a 165-213 defeat to the Red Rams, who set a team course record for a league match at SCC.
And that was immediately followed by the Onondaga High School League Tournament at Woodcrest on Tuesday afternoon, where the Lakers managed a strong fifth-place finish with 453. J-D won team honors with 343 and featured Victoria Roney, whose 78 claimed individual honors.
Still, senior Grace Magee and junior Madison Singler tied for 10th place, each of them posting totals of 101. Eighth-grader Jillian Barker managed a 121, ahead of Karah Blair (130) and Nieve Morse (147), who are also eighth-graders and just getting used to top-flight competition.
Another big tournament awaited the Lakers on Tuesday, as it would travel to Kanon Valley, in Oneida, for the Section III championships, this after shooting 215 at Drumlins in a three-team match last Thursday to beat East Syracuse-Minoa (250) but finish behind host CBA, who had 192.
