During the April school break, Manlius-Pebble Hill boys golfer Johnny Gruninger went to Tampa, Florida and finished second in the Innisbrook Easter Junior tournament.
On the same Copperhead course where the PGA Tour holds an event each March, Gruninger shot rounds of 75, 74 and 79 to finish at 228, three shots behind Min Jun Kim’s winning 225.
Once back home, Gruninger joined his fellow Trojans to resume winning form in a 211-314 rout of Solvay last Tuesday at Pine Grove.
All that Gruninger did was shoot a 31, five under par, one of the lowest nine-hole totals of his high school career. Grant Lewis was strong, too, posting a 35 as Tommy Wildhack and Gavin Cardamone both finished with 46.
Bishop Grimes had to go to the Links at Sunset Ridge to deal with undefeated Marcellus last Thursday afternoon and could not keep up in a 198-241 defeat to the Mustangs.
Anthony Falgiatano’s round of 42 was behind four Marcellus golfers, led by Shawn Colella, who blazed to a 35. Ben Schultz shot a 47 for Grimes as Josh Kuchinski had a 48. Louis Pelose, with a 51, beat Connor Alexander (54) and Colby Evans (57).
In girls golf, Fayetteville-Manlius continued to dominate early-season foes, including Jamesville-DeWitt, whom the Hornets beat 165-211 in last Wednesday’s match at Green Lakes.
Justine Burness and Lucy Fowler shared low individual honors with a 39, two ahead of the Red Rams’ Lena Jones. Bailey Wallace got a 42 and Elly Hulslander a 45 ahead of Ashley Carter (51) and Ally Egnaczyk (57).
, Sophia Ferris and Kelli Polumbo both shot 55 for J-D, with Eden Schiomos (60), Tracey Edson (62) and Abby Neuman (65) behind them.
F-M would open its SCAC Metro division slate Friday, where against the West Genesee Wildcats the Hornets again were dominant in taking down the Wildcats 135-175.
On a Westvale course shortened to seven holes due to rain, Burness had a 31 to lead the way. Wallace posted a 33 and Hulslander got a 35 to match that of WG’s Mikaela Riley. Fowler shot 36, with Kira Graves shooting 38 to match Carter and Egnaczyk earning a 41.
Christian Brothers Academy played its season opener on Thursday afternoon, facing Marcellus and pulling out a 220-222 decision over the Mustangs at Drumlins.
Annie Kilmartin led the Brothers with a 54, which trailed the 49 from Marcellus’ Grace Alexander. But CBA started to catch up when Elizabeth Lucas and Aubrey Mills both shot 55 to match that of the Mustangs’ Bronte Stahl.
Then it was Makenna Schultz earning a 56 to equal the Mustangs’ Kendall Koloski, and Paige Snyder posting a 57 that allowed the Brothers to inch ahead of Marcellus, whose fifth-best total was a 62 by Brooke Spaeth.
A day later, CBA routed Chittenango 211-301 at Woodcrest, and here Mills went to the forefront, shooting a 47. That was seven shots ahead of Kilmartin and Hanna Kang, both of whom shot 54 as Isabella Meade contributed a 56.
Bishop Grimes played last Monday and lost, 243-265, to Skaneateles at the Links at Erie Village, even though Brina Deppoliti, shooting a 57, was one shot ahead of the Lakers’ low round of 58 by Julia Marshall.
A day later, the Cobras had a 241-274 defeat to Marcellus, this time with Mara Gutchess leading Grimes as she shot 65 at Tuscarora, with Raquel McDonald (68) and Makenna Gadway (69) close behind. Grace Alexander paced the Mustangs with a 56.
Grimes played a third time on Wednesday and had a 135-145 defeat to Cazenovia, with 33s shot by Deppoliti and Abby Fletcher for the Cobras and also by the Lakers’ duo of Sophie Clancy and Courtney Holt.
