This time around, it wasn’t enough just to compete in the boys golf New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships for a talented quartet of area stars.
Working together, they aimed to push Section III to the top of the team standings while still in pursuit of individual goals on Cornell University’s Robert Trent Jones course in Ithaca.
West Genesee’s Nick Bove moved to the fringes of individual state title contention in Sunday’s opening round. With a birdie on the 10th hole, Bove put together a five-over-par 76,
That left Bove tied for 11th place with Fayetteville-Manlius’ Adam Butch, five shots off the lead shared by Nathan Hahn (Section I, Somers) and Nolan Crowley (Section II, Saratoga Springs) and two behind Manlius-Pebble Hill’s Johnny Gruninger, who had a 74.
Meanwhile, Marcellus golfer Shawn Colella put together a 78, including a birdie on hole 14, that left him tied for 25th place, with Westhill getting an 83 from Anthony Maglisco and Skaneateles seeing Tynan Jones shoot an 84.
All of them helped Section III to second place in the team standings at 550, just 16 strokes back of Section I as the final round got underway Monday morning.
In cold, windswept conditions more similar to autumn than summer,, Bove shot another 76, with three birdies on holes 5, 7 and 13 somewhat negated by six bogeys and a double bogey on 15.
Still, the total of 152 would put Bove in a tie for 10th place, best among Section III golfers, three strokes ahead of Gruninger’s 155.
Somers’ Nathan Han won the individual state title going away, his rounds of 71 and 70 putting him at 141, one under par, seven strokes clear of Evan Sitts (Oneonta), Alex Kyriacou (Suffern) and Shane Devincenzo (Port Jefferson), so Bove was only four strokes out of the runner-up spot.
Colella was only one shot worse in his final round, with a 79, and he moved up a bit, to a tie for 22nd. Jones improved five strokes to a 79 and moved up to a tie for 38th with MPH’s Grant Lewis as Maglisco struggled to an 87.
Combined, Section III was able to claim second place alone in the team standings, at 1,104, with Section I (1,058) pulling away for top honors.
