Boys golfers from Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool made their way to Radisson Greens on Wednesday, battling for top honors in the Section III Class AA tournament, with the Northstars finishing fourth and the Warriors fifth in the team standings.
With a team total of 403, C-NS Blue could not keep up with West Genesee, who repeated its 2017 sectional title by shooting 386 to hold off Fayetteville-Manlius (390) and Baldwinsville (393) for the top spot.
This was the second time in three years Radisson hosted this event, so a handful of the veteran Northstars and Warriors had played here before facing end-of-season pressure.
C-NS’s Blue team qualified seven golfers during the regular season, when it finished second in the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division standings behind Fayetteville-Manlius.
And though it went 2-11 this fall, C-NS Green had six golfers at Radisson, as did Liverpool, who was 4-8, but had earned a 187-190 win over B’ville earlier in the week.
To lead C-NS Blue, senior Andrew Brunozzi shot a one-over-par 73. That put him alone in fourth place among individuals as B’ville’s Max Dec, with a 70, beat WG’s Nick Bove by one shot for individual medalist honors.
Junior Ryan Sisco, shooting a 75, was fifth in the AA tournament, as he and Brunozzi both advanced to next spring’s sectional state qualifying tournament at Seven Oaks in Hamilton.
It took an 82 to advance, and while no other C-NS Blue golfer reached that mark, C-NS Green sophomore Ethan Shallcross did shoot an 82 to lead his side.
Spencer Baum led Liverpool, advancing to the state qualifier by shooting a five-over-par 77, joined by teammate and fellow junior Dylan Husted, who posted a 78.
C-NS’s Pat Cuddy, shooting an 83, just missed the qualifying standard, as did Liverpool’s Pat Langlois, who also shot 83. Brian Pellegrino posted an 85 on the Northstars as Austin Alberici had an 87, Liam Mussi shot an 88 and Jake Nardozza finished with a 92.
Behind Shallcross, C-NS Green featured an 86 from Cullen Scott, with Sean Lawler shooting a 90. Sam Thompson had a 95, just ahead of Brody Kennedy (98) and Carter Costello (99).
Baum, Husted and Langlois were trailed on Liverpool’s side by Sam Sgroi, who shot an 88. Also for the Warriors, Brodie Powers shot a 90 and Tyler Leatherwood added a 99.
Liverpool went to Radisson buoyed by what it accomplished last Monday, when it took down Baldwinsville 187-190.
Back in early September, Liverpool had lost by 20 strokes (189-209) to the Bees at Timber Banks. What happened in the rematch showed just how much the Warriors had grown.
Baum was his usual strong self, shooting a 34 to tie Dec, but then Husted shot a season-best 36 to finish third, one ahead of the Bees’ Matt Shipman, as Powers, with a 38, was alone in fifth place.
Sgroi stepped up with a 39 and Langlois closed it out with a 40. That kept Liverpool ahead of a Bees side where, aside from Dec and Shipman, Vic Ianno (39), Anthony Petragnani and Ryan Conley (40 each) had solid showings.
