Perhaps it was evident throughout the regular season that the West Genesee boys golf team was not going to quite replicate the magic that produced a Section III Class AA championship a season ago.
However, thanks to top-four finishes from two veterans (Joe Morgan and Dylan Plis) on that 2015 title team, the Wildcats still managed a third-place finish in Wednesday’s 2016 edition of the sectional tournament at Radisson Greens.
With a team total of 406, WG just edged out Cicero-North Syracuse Blue (407) for that third spot. In the battle at the top between CNY Counties League regular-season co-champions, Baldwinsville, playing close to home, won with 385, well clear of second-place Fayetteville-Manlius, who had 397.
In the battle for individual honors, Morgan nearly won it. He shot a one-over-par 73 on the 6,600-yard Radisson layout, putting him in second place behind B’ville’s Ryan Fecco, who lives near the course and used his course knowledge to take medalist honors with a one-under-par 71.
Plis, who often led the Wildcats during league matches this season, fell back a bit on this day, but still shot a four-over-par 76, putting him in fourth place as the Bees’ Tim Garraffo, with a 74, finished third.
Behind all of them, the other WG golfers had mixed results, with Jack Corcoran shooting an 80 to tie for 10th place, helping him join Morgan and Plis as they advanced to May’s sectional state qualifier at Seven Oaks in Hamilton.
Nick Bove and Mike DiPaola both shot 85 and shared 20th place, while Jim LaValle finished with an 87 and Dan Benetti closed his season with a 98.
