Cicero-North Syracuse boys golfers Joe and John Petrin both had strong fall campaigns and finished among the leaders in the Section III Class AA tournament last October at the Links at Sunset Ridge.
With the fall season done, the Petrin brothers, along with Pat O’Donnell and Connor Van Epps, waited through a long, cold winter and wet spring to get their shot at berths in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament at Cornell University’s course in Ithaca.
Finally, the time for the state qualifier arrived, and C-NS sent its top golfers to Seven Oaks, located near Colgate University in Hamilton, to battle golfers who played both in the fall and spring.
Joe Petrin immediately put himself near the top of the leaderboard. With a 76, four over par, in Thursday’s opening round, Petrin tied Auburn’s Mike May and LaFargeville’s Dan Leek for third place behind Mike Lee (Fayetteville-Manlius) and Tom Mandel (New Hartford), whose rounds of 74 created a tie for the lead.
Perhaps feeding off his brother’s good work, John Petrin posted a 79, which put him in a tie for 10th place, safely inside the cut line that fell at 81. O’Donnell put up a strong effort, too, but missed the cut with an 87, while Van Epps finsihed with a 100.
Now the Petrin brothers got ready for the final round, where conditions at Seven Oaks would remain tough for the entire 21-player field.
Handling it quite well, though, Joe Petrin only finished one shot above his opening round, posting a five-over-par 77. That pushed him to a 153, one shot ahead of May for second place, and past Lee, who fell to an 84 and had to hang on for the ninth and final state placement.
Only Mandel would beat him, as his 77 produced a two-day total of 151 that won the qualifier. To prove how tough the conditions were, Leek, who began the day two shots back, posted a 94 that left him at 190 and out of the hunt.
Joe Petrin easily qualified for the Section III state tournament team – but his brother could not join him. Needing a second straight 79 to advance, John could only manage an 84, and his total of 163 left him tied with F-M’s Ryan Keller for 15th place.
The entire state tournament roster consists of Joe Petrin, along with May, Mandel, Lee, Dante Migliore (Frankfort-Schuyler), Nick Santaro (F-M), Christian Nizamis (Baldwinsville), Jack Bellardini (CBA) and Bob Davenport (West Canada Valley).
